Photo by Derek Frazer – UltiPhotos.com
JUNE 4, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh
The DC Breeze (3-3) return home to Carlini Field after two games on the road in Canada to open the next chapter in the UFA’s best rivalry: DC Breeze versus New York Empire (3-4).
The history between these two franchises runs deep, with DC knocking New York out of the playoffs in 2016, and New York ending DC’s playoff runs in 2018, 2022, and 2023. The Breeze and Empire have played each other 30 times over the past 11 seasons, with New York currently leading the series with 17 wins, but DC swept the reuglar-season series in 2024. This season, both teams maybe haven't hit the heights to which they have become accustomed but are still competing for hotly-contested playoff spots in the East, which has become far and away the most-competitive division in the league.
DC and New York are both coming off trips to Canada, however, New York only faced off against Toronto, while DC played both Canadian franchises on the road in week six. New York took a tough loss to a resurgent Toronto team, who Breeze fans know are better team than their 1-4 record shows. The Breeze split their road series, beating Toronto and losing to Montreal, who also defeated the Empire earlier in the season.
New York finds themselves in a bit of a transitional year, as many of their stars from their championship seasons have moved on, but they remain dangerous, as long as players like Ben Jagt and Jack Williams are still around. Jagt is on pace for another outstanding season with a staggering plus-minus of +45 and is averaging more than four goals and just under two assists, as well as a block per game. However, DC can't be too focused on Jagt, as New York’s other threats like John Randolph can be just as deadly, especially when they are getting assists served to them on a platter by 2025-addition and former Los Angeles Aviators standout Calvin Brown.
The Empire defense is led by Antoine Davis and Marques Brownlee, two mainstays for the Empire, but Sam Jonas has also really stood out on defense. Jonas has already accumulated ten blocks in just six games after only getting five all of last season. For DC to get through this tough New York defense, their offense will have to be on-point, and without Christian Boxley again, they will be looking for new threats downfield.
Fortunately for the Breeze, a new threat has come just in time. 2024 USAU Callahan winner and former Atlanta Hustle player Aidan Downey will suit up for his first game for the Breeze on Friday against New York. Downey played mostly on defense during his last season in Atlanta, but with his downfield ability and the injuries to defensive players Charlie McCutcheon and Moussa Dia, it would not be surprising to see him involved on both sides of the disc.
While DC's defense has held up well throughout the season, the Breeze will hope that the O-line will be much more stable than it has been for the last few weeks. The Breeze offense struggled against Boston, returned to form against Toronto and then fell back to poor form against Montreal. DC’s offensive identity lies in its commitment to possession, safe passes, and tight-window throws to break through down the middle of the field. DC has not moved away from this identity, but there have been uncharacteristic struggles with turnovers that have crept up on the Breeze. Whether or not there will be changes in the game plan or the personnel in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but what we have seen is that the offense can look unstoppable when they are flowing; it's just a matter of achieving that flow.
For the upcoming game against New York, DC will have some much-needed reinforcements after playing against Toronto and Montreal with just 19 players, after injuries to Dia and Kevin Healey in those respective games. Along with Downey, Jasper Tom returns for the D-line. As of now, Breeze leadership expects Healey to be able to go after missing the final three quarters of the Montreal game after taking a Royal player's elbow to his mouth. McCutcheon and Dia both remain questionable after sustaining injuries last weekend in Canada. The Empire will be coming to DC at almost full strength, with the only notable absence being D-liner Dmitry Suvorov, and the aforementioned Jonas is listed as questionable.
This game has huge playoff implications. If the Breeze come out with a victory, New York will fall to 3-5 and be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. If the Empire are able to take care of business in the nation's capital, it doesn't spell disaster for DC, but they'll have to be nearly perfect the rest of the way with a 3-4 record. Both teams have matchups left with a strong-but-not-invincible Boston Glory squad and a Philadelphia Phoenix team that started hot but has sputtered recently. The East remains as wide open as ever, but teams still have to go play the games, and nothing is a foregone conclusion.
Catch the DC Breeze as they face off against the New York Empire on Friday, June 6 at Carlini Field in Washington, DC. First pull goes up at 7:00 PM ET. Streaming live for free on YouTube and on watchUFA.tv. Tickets are available at thedcbreeze.com.
