JUNE 18, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh
(editors' notes in italics)

This past weekend, the DC Breeze (4-4) travelled north to face off against the New York Empire (4-5) in a second consecutive matchup after beating them by eight goals at Carlini Field. The Breeze pushed the Empire hard, but ultimately fell short of the win in a double overtime thriller. DC was missing a number of key players, especially on defense, and that showed, as they were only able to break the Empire twice, after breaking them nine times in the first matchup. The Breeze offense was lights out, holding 80% of the time and only giving up seven turnovers, most of which unfortunately came late in the game. It was the defense that struggled to keep up with excellent performances from John Randolph and Jack Williams.

The Breeze came out hot, continuing their good form from last game. New York tried to unsettle the Breeze and force their cutters deep, but DC stayed true to their style and marched the disc down the field. Aidan Downey kicked off his great game by finding Cole Jurek with a hammer for the game's opening goal. The Breeze got a little luck their way, as well, as trusted Empire handler Solomon Rueschemeyer-Bailey dropped a routine pass on the goal line, and DC capitalized with Marcus Lee dishing it to Jasper Tom to put the Breeze up two goals. After a quick Empire hold, New York had a chance to tie the game up after a Tyler Monroe huck sailed just past Coby Loveranes, but Jacques Nissen shut down the chance and led DC back up the field to hold. New York’s Ben Jagt had a tough game, giving the Breeze multiple break chances with five throwaways. Up two goals, the Breeze were given two break chances off New York throwaways but couldn't capitalize, as Lee and Kevin Healey turned the disc back over. The Breeze came close to taking a three-goal lead at many points of the first quarter, but the Empire just hung on and kept the game close as time expired in the first period.

DC continued to do well in the second quarter, starting the frame off with another break. A throwaway from Jagt was picked up by Tom, who swung to Brandon Lamberty, who threw a rocket to Alexandre Fall that was unfortunately caught just short of the endzone. Fall was able to swing the disc, which ultimately found Tom, who then connected with rookie Micah Wagner to go up three goals on the Empire. This lead wouldn't last long, though, as the Empire held quickly and then came up with a break after a Jurek huck missed its target. DC’s three-goal lead was quickly cut back down to just one and the Empire showing that they would not go away quietly. DC re-stabilized and held on their last two chances of the period with goals from Rowan McDonnell and Jurek, but they had to survive a last-second scare, as a huck from Max Sheppard was MAC’d into the endzone by Jagt where it seemed to hang in the air forever before being snatched by Jeff Wodatch to the relief of Breeze fans. The Breeze maintained a two-goal lead going into the second half, but New York was already showing signs of resurgence. 

New York came out swinging in the very first point of the second half with a break on DC’s O-line. Sam Jonas got the hand block on Monroe, and then Axel Agami scored for the Empire to get them back within one. DC then held twice and New York once before a three-goal run flipped the game on its head and put the Empire in the driver's seat. It started with Matt LaBar scoring on an easy hold, and then, after the O-line subbed on for a D-line point following a block from Sam Alston, Randolph found the endzone for the break, capitalizing on an underthrown huck from Nissen. New York then finally took their first lead of the day after the officials missed a foul call on New York's Tristan Yarter, which led to McDonnell not being able to reel in Jurek’s huck. Subsequently, the Empire’s Everest Shapiro was fouled in the endzone on the other side of the field, despite Monroe's argument that the officials had just missed the exact same call the other way. The Empire eventually converted their goal-line opportunity by finding Agami again. Although it was a challenging third quarter for the Breeze, it ended on a positive note with the Breeze offense coming onto the field with 28 seconds left and ultimately being able to tie the game. The Breeze used every last second of the clock before Nissen found McDonnell to knot the game at 13 with zero seconds left on the clock in the third quarter. 

After the scoring frenzy in the third quarter, both teams struggled to score in the final frame, as fatigue seemed to set in. New York’s first hold took nearly four minutes, which included the Breeze having a break chance fall flat and the Empire getting some risky throws to go their way. The period was dominated by the offenses from both teams with every point being a hold. However, it was in the last point where things really got chaotic. DC worked the disc down to the Empire goal line, but with the stall count rising, Wodatch ripped a hammer to Gus Norrbom that flew just over his head. New York then had possession leading by one goal with little time remaining. Shashank Alladi picked up for New York, but the Empire were seemingly unaware that the stall count had already started. New York’s coaching staff frantically tried to call a timeout, but the officials did not grant one before Alladi was stalled out. DC then got handed the disc back with the chance to tie the game in very odd circumstances, but they ultimately converted their second chance, with Downey tying the game with a hammer to Nissen. New York then had a chance to win the game with 40 seconds left, but they couldn't get the throw off to the endzone, and the game headed into overtime tied at 16.

In overtime, DC had to call on the limited number of players that they had left. Coming into the game already shorthanded, it didn't help that Jurek and Lamberty also picked up injuries throughout the course of the game. New York won the overtime coin toss and elected to defend first, not wanting to risk another double overtime loss. The Breeze started strong with a goal from Loveranes, who used his track speed to beat two Empire defenders to a disc floated out in front of him by McDonnell. On the next point, the Empire gifted the Breeze a chance to break and practically put the game on ice, as Calvin Brown threw the disc straight into the path of Jace Dean. Jagt fouled Jasper Tom hard, stopping the Breeze counter attack and picking up an unsportsmanlike conduct foul in the process. DC then called a timeout to bring on their O-line. After a few passes, McDonnell tried to squeeze a pass into Wodatch that Yarter just had better positioning on, ending the break chance for DC. The Breeze defense came back onto the field after a New York timeout but just couldn't stop the Empire offense, as Brown scored to tie the game once again. Now tied at 17, with the Breeze holding the disc, DC obviously needed to score to put themselves ahead but also wanted to hold the disc and prevent the Empire from getting another chance. Nissen took the matter into his own hands and fired it deep for McDonnell, who was conveniently short of the endzone, allowing him to drain valuable seconds from the clock before finding Monroe to put the Breeze in the lead with just 16 seconds remaining. With the clock ticking down, Williams floated the disc to Jagt, who was streaking down the sideline, while all the Breeze defenders were gathered in the endzone. Jagt made the easy grab, and despite the official scoreboard clock showing 00:00.0 before Williams released the disc, the officials determined that he did get the throw off in time, sending the game to double overtime, despite protests from the Breeze coaching staff.

Photo evidence clearly shows that Williams did not release the disc in time, and the game should have resulted in a Breeze victory after the first overtime period.

Despite the officials' clear error, the game continued, and the Empire’s decision to defend first in overtime paid off, as they started with the disc in double overtime. However, they didn't hold it long as an early huck from Brown had just the wrong angle and gave the Breeze a chance to end the game. After a DC timeout, the O-line got the disc in a tough spot and were forced to work it out of their own endzone. Monroe got fouled by Jagt while attempting to move the disc out of the endzone, but unfortunately, Jagt also took both players out of the game as Monroe was injured and Jagt was awarded his second unsportsmanlike conduct foul and ejected after another bad bid. Unfortunately, the Breeze couldn't end the game with this possession, as a routine swing from Andrew Roy went just wide, and the Empire got the disc back once again. The game seemed to be over, as the Empire walked down the field to the goal line, but just as it seemed all hope was lost, Tom breathed life back into the team with a heroic block on a pass that should not have happened, as the officials missed the stall call. With no timeouts left, DC’s injury-scarred D-line was forced to march down the field and end the game. They worked down to the red zone, surviving multiple scares from the tight New York defense, but the stall count caught up with Downey, and he was forced into a difficult throw that went straight to New York's Jacob Cowan. The Empire got the disc back and easily worked it down the field against an exhausted Breeze defense to win the game in double overtime.

Although a loss against a rival is always tough to take, the conditions of this particular loss, on the road without many key players in double overtime, showed the grit and determination of the Breeze squad, as well as their ability to play through tough circumstances. The Breeze are still in position to make the playoffs, sitting at third in the division. That being said, two of their four remaining games are against the number one team in the league, the undefeated Boston Glory. This makes their other matchups at home against the Montreal Royal and on the road against the Philadelphia Phoenix into must-win matchups. The Breeze have lost to all three of these teams throughout the season, making their last four games not only crucial to the playoff push, but also an opportunity to show how the team has improved over the season. The Breeze will hope to be healthier, especially on the defensive side, as the grind of the season clearly impacted them in the matchup against New York. The Breeze have a much-needed bye this weekend, giving them an opportunity to rest and recover after a difficult road trip.

The DC Breeze are back in action on Friday, June 27 at Carlini Field, as they host the Montreal Royal. First pull goes up at 7:00 PM ET. Tickets are available at thedcbreeze.com.