With the Los Angeles Aviators now on the right track, it’s time for the team to build some momentum.

After winning its first game of the 2025 season in exciting fashion over the Houston Havoc, the road only gets harder for the Aviators as they prepare to play one of two undefeated teams in the UFA with at least four games played.

“Austin, that's a really good team, so we have to take, I mean it's gonna be super cliche, to take the things that went really well [against Houston] and continue to do those,” head coach Jake Baumer said after his first win with the Aviators.

The Austin Sol, who have qualified for the league playoffs three years in a row, pose stiff competition to Los Angeles. While two of Austin’s wins have come against the 1-5 Havoc, the other two were against the 3-2 Colorado Summit and the 3-1 Madison Radicals. Austin’s offense has led the squad to its 4-0 start, sitting at the top of the UFA with its 24.5 scores per game. At the center of the offense is Jackson Potts, who is fourth in the UFA with his 4.8 assists per game.

The main test for Los Angeles will be to slow down the high-powered Sol offense. While the Aviators allow the fourth-most scores per game in the UFA, the defense is turning around after allowing the most points across the first three games of the season. Los Angeles allowed teams to score 23.3 points per game across the first three, but have dropped that number to 20.5 points in the last two. The defense even became a linchpin for the Aviators in their win, putting up 11 total blocks and a Callahan across the six-period, double-overtime win.

“Hopefully [the Havoc game] really pumps up the defense to remind them this is what they're capable of, stepping up, being tight to their guys, making huge plays,” Baumer said. “We haven't had those opportunities the last couple of games, and [the win] shows that we can step up and make that happen.”

It was a team win for the Aviators, as nine different players recorded at least one block, including one each from rookies Max Combs, Everett Grass, Dox Raskin, Nicholas Dunbar and Owen Shaff. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, veterans Sean McDougall and Andrew Padula utilized their combined 19 seasons of UFA play to each have two blocks.

The story of the season has been the impressive performances from the rookies combined with the steadfast play from the longtime Aviators and UFA players.

LA’s offense is the epitome of that combination with the three-headed monster of McDougall, three-year veteran James Franklin and rookie Jonathan Lyle. Despite primarily operating as a handler, Lyle has scored a sneaky 13 goals which is tied with Franklin for the team lead.

“We have known that our offense, once it's in rhythm, can go with anybody,” Baumer said. “We have proven time and time again that no defense scares us.”

It has been a struggle for the Aviators’ offense to get into that rhythm, but the shift was there against the Havoc after a 4-4 first quarter. Baumer attributed the better start to a slightly different warm up than previous games, making it essential for LA to follow a similar pattern against Austin.

“We've been putting ourselves in a hole to start,” Franklin said after the win over Houston. “So we just wanted to do our job, do what we know we can do and just throw to open hands and throw to our friends and give everyone options. Just get the first goal out of the way and get the jitters out of the way, and lock in and play a full game.”

The Aviators did suffer six breaks against the Havoc, but none occurred in the first quarter. If LA continues its upward trajectory at the start of games and combines the improvements with its middle-quarter play in the previous two games — the Aviators only trailed 23-22 across those frames — it will have a good shot against Austin. Offensive play needs to be a major focus for Los Angeles as Austin capitalizes when it forces turns, and the Sol do it at a solid rate. The Texas squad is second in the UFA with its 10 breaks per game, securing breaks at a 38.8% clip. 

With a strong offense and a solid defense, the Aviators will have to put together a great team performance to complement star showings from McDougall, Lyle and Franklin.

“Job’s not done. We're just going to keep practicing and keep grinding and keep grinding and get better,” Franklin said.

LA will look to put together the upset when it takes on the Sol at Great Park Championship Stadium on Friday. First pull is at 7 p.m. and fans can buy tickets here https://laaviators.com/event/2025-game-6/