Photo by Alan Bloodgood
JUNE 26, 2024
By Marissa Kleckner
This Friday at 7 p.m., the DC Breeze will host the Carolina Flyers in a much-anticipated matchup between two interdivisional rivals.
Friday night's matchup will be the eighth-ever meeting between the two franchises. Last year, the Breeze and Flyers split the series, each taking a win on the road.
Coming into the game this season, both teams are sitting at the top of their divisions. DC has already clinched a playoff spot at 8-2 and Carolina (6-1) is well set up to secure their playoff spot in the last few weeks of the year. The Flyers are coming off their first loss of the season to Atlanta last week by a score of 25-19.
While DC has clinched a playoff spot, they are still in a heated battle with the Boston Glory (7-2) for the top spot in the East Division. With DC facing a short but difficult remainder of the season, a win against Carolina will help the Breeze maintain control of the number one seed and a first-round bye in the East Division playoffs.
To try and take this game, DC will have Elliot Bonnet back on the active roster after he missed the last two weekends to compete in the Windmill tournament overseas. Bonnet, a UFA rookie, has become a key part of the DC offense and has consistently been one of the top scorers for the team. He's second on the team in goals at 25 and has netted three or more goals in each of his seven games. Having him back will likely set the Breeze up to open up their offense a little bit more and play more downfield with more cutting depth alongside Cole Jurek and Jacques Nissen.
While DC is closing out its season with just two regular-season games left, Carolina is still deep in the swing of the season. The Breeze will take on the Flyers this week before having a three-week break and then heading up to New York to play the Empire for the second matchup of the year.
The Flyers still have five games left in their season. This is Carolina's first of three straight interdivisional games before playing their two final South Division contests. They will take on a double header up north, playing DC on Friday and then the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds in Pittsburgh on Saturday before heading home to take on the Philadelphia Phoenix in Week 11. Winning this game against DC will all but secure the top spot in the South for Carolina. The Atlanta Hustle are the only team that could catch them, as both teams gear up for a battle in the postseason.
The Breeze look forward to welcoming fans to Fan Appreciation Night at the last home game of the regular season. First pull is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carlini Field. Tickets are available at thedcbreeze.com/tickets.
