MAY 13, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh
The DC Breeze (2-1) improved on their already impressive head-to-head record against out-of-division rivals, the Carolina Flyers (0-1) with a comfortable two-goal win, in which the Breeze took a solid lead and never looked back.
The Breeze O-line, headed by Andrew Roy, Jacques Nissen, and Gus Norrbom, was methodically able to move the disc down the field, with Christian Boxley, Cole Jurek, and Tyler Monroe dominating the Flyers defense in the air and then finding the open man. The return of cutters like Boxley and Monroe has improved the O-line massively, with the cut timing and spacing looking like that of a group who have played thousands of points together and taking pressure off of Jurek, who certainly missed having a couple more options alongside him in the close week one loss to Philadelphia. Breeze cutters racked up stats, as Jurek, Boxley, and Monroe all finished with 3+ goals and 3+ assists.
The D-line was bolstered by the return of Moussa Dia, David Bloodgood, and Frederick Farah and gave the Carolina O-line trouble all day. The DC defense generated nine break chances and converted on four of them, ultimately giving the Breeze the cushion they needed throughout the game to win comfortably. Farah was a pleasant surprise for Breeze fans who haven't seen the cutter in over a year. The 6'3" defender tallied a block and a goal in his return and looked to be a physical threat in the deep space around whom handlers will hesitate to throw. Miles Grovic also tallied two blocks in his return from injury and showed much of the same speed and range that Breeze fans will recall from last season.
The Breeze took an early lead off the first pull, with the O-line holding with ease through Monroe. After trading holds with the Flyers on the next two points, DC's defense then forced two turnovers during the fourth point before the Breeze subbed on their O-line, and Boxley found Nissen down the sideline with a beautiful floating pass. However, a 3-1 Breeze lead quickly turned into 3-3, as the Flyers held and then found a break after a Rowan McDonnell deep shot just missed Dia. The Breeze held to end the period and restore a one-goal lead.
The second quarter started off perfectly for the Breeze defense, as an errant throw from Carolina gave the Breeze a break chance, which they took advantage of through good possession offense with precision swings, before Alexandre Fall found Farah for the break. Farah and Kevin Healey then worked together to produce a block from Farah in the deep space, which allowed the Breeze to once again sub on their O-line and hit Jurek deep, who eventually found Boxley for the second Breeze break before halftime. Carolina struck back with a break of their own, through a block from Drew Swanson to limit the damage to a two-goal Breeze lead at the half.
DC continued to perform on offense and defense, especially during the third quarter, where the Breeze broke the Flyers again and led by four as the clock wound down. Up by four in the final quarter, the Breeze did take the foot off the gas a little bit and let the Flyers get back within two by the final whistle, but through this period, the result was hardly in doubt, and the Breeze never looked like they were going to slip.
This win puts the Breeze at 2-1, back on track after the week one loss, and showed a team that looks much improved from the lackluster season opener. The lack of turnovers, D-line success, and the production coming from DC’s cutters who were dangerous in the air and equally threatening when looking to pass turned out to be a recipe for success. DC will look to build on their win streak at home and hand the Boston Glory their first loss of the year, as Jeff Babbitt and company come into Washington 2-0 off two comfortable wins against Montreal.
The DC Breeze host the Boston Glory on Sunday, May 18 at Carlini Field. First pull goes up at 4:00 PM ET. Tickets are available at thedcbreeze.com.
