May 16, 2024
By Cody Roy
On a cold and rainy night in the nation’s capital; Glory fell to DC Breeze 12-11, in a defensive affair that had the makings of an instant classic.
The contest opened with a quick Glory break, as Breeze’s Andrew Roy threw the disc away at midfield, setting up Gabe Colton to find captain Brendan McCann in the endzone.
A long point sets DC up for a hold, with Glory burning their first timeout to even at 1.
A pair of quick Breeze breaks from Isacc Lee and Charlie McCutcheon would put Breeze up by a pair, before Glory battled back, ending the first quarter all-square at 3.
As the rains picked up early in the second frame, so too did the defensive battle. Breeze opened the frame with a Thomas Edmonds layout block to set up the break.
Glory would answer with a hold, thanks to a Tyler Chan 2nd effort layout catch, and a classic Simon Carapella front cone cut.
In a half that felt light on highlight reel moments, Tannor Johnson-Go would break the ice with a 1-vs-2 sky and chilly finish to a trailing Chan, a clean hold that felt rare to either club in the first half.
Another pair of back-and-forth points would end the half at 6-5 in favor of the Breeze, as Glory couldn’t complete the buzzer-beater huck, and the half ends 7-6 in favor of DC.
The rain would finally begin to slow as the break came to an end, with DC receiving. A hold and a long break would put Breeze, up 8-5, the largest lead of a very defensive slugfest that finished with a total of 33 turnovers.
Glory would answer with their own hold-and-break to quickly draw the game back to one goal; a run of play capped off by a fantastic Luke Webb highpoint, reeling in a wet disc with one hand for his lone goal of the evening.
Boston would answer with the quarter’s final goal, ending the quarter 9-8 in favor of the hosts, with Boston receiving. Cue one of the most exciting quarters we may see all season.
Play opens with a DC defensive stand, but Breeze can never find a block as Ben Sadok, on his way to a game-high 3 assists, hits an around through the sideline trap, to Chan toeing the line.
Both sides would trade holds, DC with a huck; and Boston on the back of some chilly offense, knotting the game at 10’s.
After a DC hold, we’d get one last marathon point. Breeze and Glory would trade a pair of turnovers, before DC finally calls time to settle things down. With DC in possession and under 6 minutes on the clock, Boston needed a hold, sending out Jeff Babbitt along with a strong defensive line. That hold in a desperate hour would be found, with Peter Boerth finding McCann after forcing one last DC throwaway.
2 and a half minutes, DC disc, tied at 11.
The final minutes were nothing short of a frisbee soap opera. A Jonny Malks huck couldn’t find a receiver, and Boston gained possession at their own goal line. DC needed just four throws to win the disc back near midfield, forcing a throwaway from Boston’s D-Line. Breeze would battle high stalls finding Elliot Bonnet for one last hold, 12-11.
54 seconds for Glory’s O-Line. We’d trade turnovers one more time, including a Johnson-Go block setting up a Glory timeout with 6 seconds. One last chance for special teams, with Colin Sunde’s punt bouncing out of the scrum and very nearly into the hand of a diving Chan. An excellent effort fell just short, with Glory dropping game 1 of the weekend trip.
From there, it was a quick trip north and west for a clash against the Philadelphia Phoenix. Phoenix and Glory are two teams that never disappoint when they clash. In a defensive tour de force, Glory came away with a resounding 19-10 victory.
Phoenix opened the action with a quick hold and break, as Boston stalled out in the red zone on the latter, setting up an Ethan Holmgren break and quick 2-0 lead for the hosts.
Glory would finally find their way to a hold, thanks to a Sunde huck finding a streaking Carapella, for his 9th goal of the season. He also entered Saturday 2nd in the UFA in receiving yards, as he continues to find his footing in cutting alongside Babbitt.
After another Phoenix hold, an unforced Carapella error would lead to a Brandon Pastor break, and largest lead of the half, with the home team up 4-1 mid-quarter. Teams would trade holds, with Boston getting an extra tally to end the quarter 5-3 Phoenix.
Action would resume on a long point, with Glory finding the breakthrough as Sadok finishes a Babbitt strike cut; their second connection of the night, to pull the game back within one.
The tying goal came from Chan, opening his scoring account at the end of a 4 minute, 4 second point to record Glory’s first break; the first of what would become a career night for him.
Just one more goal would be scored in a defensive 2nd quarter, another Boston break, this time with Johnson-Go collecting a Sadok huck, capped off by Babbitt’s 3rd goal. Boston earned the last throw but couldn’t connect, but Boston had not only erased a 3-goal deficit, but now found themselves ahead 6-5.
Phoenix would finally find their first goal in just under 17 minutes of gametime, with James Pollard finding Paul Owens, to level the score at 6.
Glory had a quick answer, with Caelan McSweeney putting the disc on a string for a diving Sadok. Another pair of holds would follow, and with the game tied at 7, it was time for Boston’s defense to put on a show.
In five minutes of gametime, Glory would earn a quartet of breaks, each with unique flair.
Stellar downfield defense kept Phoenix pinned in their own half, before Topher Davis finally got in front of a throw. A timeout turned the play into a break- Chan’s second goal and Sadok’s third assist.
Jonah Stang-Osborne’s next pull was too hot for Philly to handle, with he himself capping the point via an assist to Jac Carreiro.
Next came a Jordan Rhyne throwaway, capitalized on by Boerth and McCann, the latter putting an exclamation point on his 3-goal weekend and reeling in a big scoober.
Scoobers were becoming a theme, with Roan Dunkerly earning his first career assist, hitting Reed Browning on an overhead goal line look. Rapidfire defense ended the 3rd quarter 12-7, and this one was quickly slipping out of Philadelphia’s hands.
The Glory train couldn’t be stopped as Johnson-Go found Babbitt in the endzone again, the last of the reigning MVP’s 4 goals on the night.
One last break marked 7 straight Boston scores- Browning links with Webb to take a 14-7 lead.
Holds would finally be traded before yet another Dunkerly milestone. Stang-Osborne unleashed yet another cannonball, this one to Boerth just short of the endzone. Dunkerly was trailing, his strike making it 16-8, and the Northampton High School Senior finally found his first career goal. He would add his 3rd layout block of the season before the game ends.
The storylines ended with Chan tying Babbitt on a game-high 4 goals, equal with the 4 assists of Sadok.
Phoenix would turn the disc over twice as much as Glory (18 to 9), and Boston’s D-Line made few mistakes when given possession.
All told, it was a split weekend for Boston. A loss to DC Breeze that came down to the final throw, and a ringing of Philadelphia’s bell the following day. The tests continue on May 17th, with the New York Empire shipping up to Boston. It will be Babbitt and Ben Katz’ first game against their former teams, and Boston puts its half-game East Division lead on the line.
