Photo by Cullen Clark (UltiPhotos.com)
JUNE 12, 2024
By Marley Pope
The DC Breeze (5-2) head north of the border for a weekend double header against two East division opponents in the Toronto Rush (1-5) and the Montreal Royal (2-3). Game one against Toronto is scheduled for Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m. and game two against Montreal Sunday, June 16 at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Breeze pulled out a narrow win over the New York Empire in a contested division game last weekend. DC’s five-goal third quarter proved to be the difference after both teams entered halftime with seven scores on the board.
In a game where DC’s offense struggled to reach its high standard of efficiency, the D-line provided crucial stops, allowing New York to convert on just 64% of their red zone chances, a season-low for the Empire. The Breeze D-line took advantage of their opportunities, as well, scoring five in seven chances.
A hat trick from defender Charlie McCutcheon and two more goals from defender Troy Holland (season debut) picked up the offense’s slack to get DC back into the win column.
Jonny Malks once again facilitated the offense with four assists and 280 throwing yards and now sits in the top ten in the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) in assists.
Scouting Toronto
The Rush’s lone win of the season came against an out-of-division opponent in the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, and they have since lost three straight, including a loss to DC on May 31, 26-19.
Handler Ryan Poloz leads the team in scores with 17 goals and nine assists, netting his second hat trick of the season in his last game. Akifumi Muraoka has 1,000 more total yards than any other Rush player and his ability to distribute and receive the disc drives Toronto’s offense.
Scouting Montreal
The Royal’s two wins this season came against Toronto, who sit at the bottom of the East Division. Tobe Decraene earned a spot on the league's honor roll for an 8-point (3G, 5A), 692-total-yard performance in the Royal’s win over Toronto. Decraene is now first in the UFA in scores per game and is second in total yards. He also ranks in the top 10 in blocks. Decraene is not currently rostered for this weekend's matchup, so the Royal will need to rely on veterans Kevin Quinlan and Quentin Bonnaud and second-year player Phillipe Le Bourdais, if they hope to produce against a stout DC defense, which will see newly-re-signed players Alexandre Fall and Moussa Dia make their 2024 season debuts.
Only the 0-6 Detroit Mechanix have fewer goals than the Royal on the season, where Montreal ranks in the bottom 10 in the UFA in several offensive categories. The strength of Montreal’s offense? Their 60% huck percentage ranks 12th in the UFA, which could work in their favor, as the Breeze have shown a propensity to give up the longball in recent history.
Notable Absences
Both Team USA Open and Team Canada Open will be competing at the Windmill Tournament, an annual ultimate frisbee tournament and festival held in Amsterdam, as a tune-up for the World Flying Disc Federation's World Ultimate Championship, which will be held in Gold Coast, Australia August 31 through September 7 of this year. DC will be without Holland, Malks, Thomas Edmonds, Rowan McDonnell, and AJ Merriman, who will be competing with USA Open. The team will also be without Elliot Bonnet, Gus Norrbom, and Zach Norrbom, who will also be competing at Windmill. Toronto will be missing Luc Comiré, Oscar Stonehouse, and Phil Turner, and Montreal will be without Raphael Lalonde-Landry and Jakob Brissette, all of whom will be competing with Canada Open. Montreal's Decraene will also be absent (as mentioned above) to compete at Windmill with the Tokay SuperTeam.
History
DC beat Toronto earlier this season in relatively easy fashion, 26-19 and have a chance to sweep the Rush for the third year in a row.
The Breeze have handled the other Canadian team in recent history too, with their last loss to Montreal coming in April of 2018. This will be their first matchup of two this season.
Looking Ahead
DC returns to the States to face off against Montreal for the second straight game on Saturday, June 22. First pull at Carlini Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are available at thedcbreeze.com.
The Breeze have an opportunity to stack some wins before two tough games to close the regular season when they host the undefeated Carolina Flyers and travel to Hartford, Connecticut for a rematch against the Empire.
