June 20, 2026
After a painful double overtime loss to the Austin Sol the night before, the San Diego Growlers needed a win against the Houston Havoc.
The Growlers came out firing quickly with a Daniel Brunker forehand to KJ Koo, whereas the Havoc played more of a possession style for their score. San Diego held, then Isasc Hsu blocked a deep throw attempt and eventually threw an assist to Sam Good for the break, 3-1. The teams traded, then Max Gibson notched a goal line block which led to a Koo assist to Reggie Sung for the break. Both teams traded holds again, with San Diego registering the final score at the buzzer with a Matt Miller flick to Stefan Samu, 7-4.
Houston started the second quarter with a hold and a break after a Growlers red zone turnover to get within one score, 7-6. Both teams hit their offensive stride with a string of holds, and Max Combs and Oliver Artus made a couple highlight reel catches for San Diego’s goals. The Growlers had a turnover on their last possession of the first half, but Hsu’s second block of the night kept the lead at 11-10.
Coming out of halftime, Combs sent a flat forehand to Gibson for the goal. On the next point, Growlers rookie Jonah Rominski got a run through block that floated 17 yards back towards the Houston endzone which he caught for a wild layout Callahan score, 13-10. The teams traded, and after a Havoc throwaway and Growlers timeout, Koo dished to Brunker for the break, 15-11. The teams traded 3 goals each to end the quarter with San Diego scores from Artus, Koo, and Miller, 18-14.
The Havoc converted their hold to begin the fourth quarter, and the Growlers answered back with a Brunker to Artus goal. Houston made it interesting with a hold and a break to pull within two scores, but a Miller assist to Brunker on the next point stopped any momentum, 20-17. From there, the teams traded scores as the clock wound down, and San Diego emerged victorious with a 23-20 win to remain in playoff contention.
The Growlers were led by Daniel Brunker (7 assists, 2 goals, 1 block) with a phenomenal +9 performance, and KJ Koo (5 assists, 3 goals, 2 blocks) with a superb +8 effort. As a team, San Diego only committed 10 total turnovers, which was a key to their success and also cut their number in half from the previous night.
Next up, San Diego will host the Houston Havoc in a rematch on Saturday, June 27 at Torrey Pines HS. The Growlers will need to win their last 3 home games and hope for one Atlanta loss to make the South Division Playoffs.
