PHOTO BY KEVIN STARNES

BY SHAGGY SHRAGIS

No players? Almost no problem for the Philadelphia Phoenix, who defeated the visiting Montreal Royal 20-19 in a Delco thriller. After going up 16-10 in the third quarter, with just 18 minutes left in the game, Philly fans got more than they bargained for, as the Hotbirds nearly blew the six point lead, allowing Montreal to tie with just over a minute left in the fourth. With time running out, late game heroics from two unlikely o-line players — Ethan Holmgren and Nate Little — connected for the game winning goal and put Philadelphia ahead by one with eight seconds remaining. While too close for comfort, the Phoenix’s win catapulted them to second place in the division, with a chance to secure a home playoff game still within reach.

There were a lot of questions as to how the offense would perform without key performers in Scott Heyman, Brandon Pastor and Sam Grossberg. The results were not great. Philly allowed Montreal to convert on seven of 10 break opportunities, and scored on just 46% of offensive possessions. That is an OLC% that would rank bottom six in the league, just ahead of the floundering LA Aviators. Greg Martin, playing his first game since being sidelined with an injury in week two, he came away with two goals and two assists, but he also had five turnovers, four of which came in the fourth quarter as the Phoenix watched their lead dwindle. Last season Martin only had two turnovers through all 12 games, and currently he has 10 after playing only three games in 2025. Martin creates valuable space for Philly’s underneath cutters, and is one of the most dangerous goal scoring threats in the Association, but Philadelphia needs to present him better throwing options, and Martin needs to start making better decisions with the disc. The Phoenix were also just 63% in the red zone, a number that would rank dead last in the league.

While both offenses struggled, the Phoenix defense was the most impressive unit of the game. The Phoenix were nine of 17 on break chances, a 53% mark that would be towards the top of the league, and the 17 break chances were the most in any game this season. Not only did the defense play well enough to win the game for a faltering offense, but their timing forced Montreal into a brutal scramble to come back. Philadelphia scored four breaks on the first five Royal offensive possessions of the game, and came out in the second half with five breaks on six possessions. Philly was also a hair's breath away from sealing the deal in the fourth, but a spectacular layout D from Quentin Bonnaud on an Andres Rodriguez hammer prevented one break, and an Ethan Pigeon drop on a huck to the end zone stopped the second. Talking with the D-line after the game, the players were disappointed that they had not done more, and are hungry to prove themselves as a unit. This is a great position to be in after a hard fought win.

The victory eliminates Montreal from the playoffs, and puts Philly within one win of securing their first postseason appearance since 2022. The Phoenix are also, somehow, still in contention for the one seed and a bye, although it would require Boston to lose every game, the Phoenix to win every game, and Philly to beat Boston by nine. While the Phoenix have a bye this upcoming July Fourth weekend, they can guarantee that playoff spot by beating New York by two when they return to action week 12. They can also make the playoffs if the Boston Glory beat DC once and Philadelphia beats DC in the season finale, a rematch of their week one victory, this time in Philadelphia. Of course, a win over both New York and DC would give Philadelphia not just a playoff game, but a home playoff game, as they would have a better record than New York and the head to head against the Breeze.

For Philadelphia to accomplish this task, their defense will need to channel the energy they played with against a bad Pittsburgh Thunderbirds and an exhausted Montreal Royal. Philly has broken on more than 30% of opposing possessions just twice — against Pittsburgh and Montreal — but left those games with a staggering 44% and 41% break percentage respectively, a mark that would be third best in the league. Against tougher teams, the defense has struggled, particularly against New York, where Philly had just three breaks in 18 New York possessions. Going into the bye week, the Phoenix cannot afford to lose focus on their double header weekend coming back into play on Week 12. They take on the undefeated Boston Glory at Neumann University July 11 and turn around for an away rematch on July 13 with the Empire — a game that will decide the fate of the 2025 Phoenix season.