Photo by Derek Frazer – UltiPhotos.com

APRIL 4, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh

With only three playoff spots in the East and four or five teams (depending on who you ask) with a realistic chance of grabbing one, the DC Breeze will have to be sharp against the traditional contenders like New York and Boston, wary of the wildcard in Toronto and not let off the gas against the weakened rosters of Philadelphia and Montreal. New York comes into the season full of young talent to replace their aging old guard; Boston has built around Jeff Babbitt and is seeking revenge against DC; Toronto has added loads of European talent and brought back players from their era of success; and Montreal and Philadelphia are coming off rough seasons, and maybe a rougher offseason, losing key talent and failing to replace it. DC’s lone interdivisional matchup is a trip to Carolina to meet the Flyers, a perennial contender that has maintained much of their roster but lost a collection of stars.

Opponent: Philadelphia Phoenix (home game 4/26, away game 7/19)
2024 record: 5-7 (4th in the East)
2025 preseason ranking: 19th (6th in the East)
The Breeze open the 2025 UFA season at home against the Philadelphia Phoenix, a team that the Breeze have had historical success against. DC is 22-5-1 all time against Philadelphia and haven’t dropped a game to the Phoenix since 2017. Philadelphia has not had recent success, and the 2025 season seems like it may be an uphill climb for the Hotbirds. A difficult offseason saw the Phoenix lose significant players such as top goal-scorer Dmitry Suvorov to the Empire, crucial O-line handlers Jordan Rhyne and Alex Thorne, defensive leader Max Trifillis and most importantly, James Pollard (to the Minnesota Wind Chill) who has thrown 100 assists and scored 119 goals over 65 career games for Philadelphia. The Phoenix will look to rookies like the Grossberg brothers (Adam and Sam), exciting young players like Nate Little, and their remaining stalwarts like Greg Martin, Sean Mott, and Paul Owens to fill in for some huge departures. The Breeze will expect to continue to find success against Philadelphia with a playoff-ready roster against a team filled with question marks. That being said, no game is easy in the UFA’s East Division, and in 2024, the Phoenix took the Breeze to double overtime at Carlini Field, emphasizing that, no matter the opponent, the Breeze cannot rest on their laurels.

Opponent: Toronto Rush (home game 5/3, away game 5/30)
2024 record: 1-11 (6th in the East)
2025 preseason ranking: 12th (4th in the East)
One of the biggest wildcards in the UFA, Toronto has had an incredibly active offseason after a dreadful 1-11 2024 season. A perennial contender in the league’s early years, Toronto has suffered a couple down years and is seeking to reverse that pattern with European talent and a reload of former players. Italian star Simone Gasperini, Dutchman Tom Blasman, a pair of Latvian stars, Toms Abeltins and Arvids Karklins, and English standout Connor McHale head up a rebuild that is bolstered by the return of players such as Mike Mackenzie, James Lewis, Wilkie Lewis, and Ty Barbieri, who all took the 2024 season off. Mark Lloyd also returns to the Rush after a six-year hiatus; the former face of the Toronto franchise and leader in goals on their 2013 undefeated championship squad hopes to rediscover the success that the Rush enjoyed in their early years and lead them to glory once again. Despite all the obvious talent, it remains to be seen how they will work with one another, or if this is enough talent to immediately elevate last year’s woeful roster into contention. The Breeze will have to take Toronto much more seriously after beating them with relative ease both times in 2024. DC has not lost a matchup against the Rush since a 2019 playoff defeat, but, despite this, the Breeze’s all-time record against Toronto is 9-18, including playoff games. The Breeze will look to sweep the Rush for a fourth season in a row to improve on this record.

Opponent: Carolina Flyers (away game 5/10)
2024 record: 9-3 (2nd in the South)
2025 preseason ranking: 5th (1st in the South)
DC’s solitary interdivisional game is a trip south to Durham, North Carolina for an encounter with the always-dangerous Carolina Flyers. Last year, the Breeze demolished the Flyers at Carlini Field, however, the Flyers would then go on to make a run to the championship game in Salt Lake City. Breeze fans should expect a much more competitive matchup than last year, as the Flyers will undoubtedly look to make amends for last season’s rout. During the offseason, the Flyers have added Rutledge Smith, a three-time collegiate champion with UNC Darkside, Jake Thorne, who scored 35 goals for the Oakland Spiders last season and Zac Byrnes, a defender coming off a solid season for the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. However, the Flyers also lost key pieces, including two All-UFA selections in Anders Juengst and Henry Fisher. They also lost Tobias Brooks (to the Colorado Summit), one of the most exciting young players in ultimate. Despite the losses, much of the Flyers core is still intact, and fans can expect them to continue to be in contention for a South Division title and for the Breeze to have a difficult test when they travel to Carolina.

Opponent: Boston Glory (home games 5/18 & 7/12, away game 7/6)
2024 record: 9-3 (2nd in the East)
2025 preseason ranking: 2nd (1st in the East)
After signing Jeff Babbitt in 2024, many wondered if Boston would be able to build a championship roster around him. Last year, they fell just short, losing in the Division Championship to the Breeze. This year, Glory have equipped themselves to challenge for the East title, if not for the league title by adding 2024 Rookie of the Year, Tobe Decraene, who recorded a stunning 52 assists and 18 blocks for Montreal last season and speedster Calvin Stoughton from the Colorado Summit. Boston also announced the return of Henry Babcock, Ethan Fortin, and Ray Tetreault, who more than make up for the departures of Colin Sunde, Reed Browning, and Jonah Stang-Osborne. Glory retained Babbitt’s co-stars Orion Cable, Simon Carapella, and Tannor Johnson-Go and will be seeking revenge against the Breeze side that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. The Breeze’s playoff victory over Glory last season heavily relied on Jonny Malks, who has left the Breeze, meaning DC will have to ask new stars to step up to defeat a star-studded Boston roster.

Opponent: Montreal Royal (away game 5/31, home game 6/27)
2024 record: 4-8 (5th in the East)
2025 preseason ranking: 18th (5th in the East)
Losing star player and reigning Rookie of the Year, Tobe Decraene, who led the team in assists and blocks, to divisional rival Boston is a huge loss for a Montreal team that is already coming off a subpar season. Having not made any substantial signings in the offseason, outside of poaching a few players from the fallout of Toronto’s roster reconstruction, the Royal will be relying on many of the same players as last season, which makes it difficult to see how this team improves to challenge the top of the East. Quentin Bonnaud, William St. Pierre, Phillipe Le Bourdais, and Kevin Quinlan continue to lead the roster, which the Breeze defeated twice last season, grasping victory from the jaws of defeat during the matchup at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex. DC will hope to continue their pattern of success against the Royal, having not lost to the Quebecois team since 2018. Without Decraene, the Royal will be searching for answers on both sides of the disc, and the Breeze should find themselves as comfortable favorites.

Opponent: New York Empire (home game 6/6, away game 6/14)
2024 record: 8-4 (3rd in the East)
2025 preseason ranking: 7th (3rd in the East)
A rivalry almost as old as the league itself, DC faces the Empire in back-to-back weeks in 2025. This is not the dynastic Empire team of recent memory, as New York is seeking to reclaim their spot atop of the East by bringing in young talent like Calvin Brown, a college star for Cal Poly SLO, two west coast players in Gavin May and Everest Shapiro, longtime Thunderbirds standout Max Sheppard, and top goal scorer Dmitry Suvorov from Philadelphia. However, will the incoming talent be able to fill in for the departures of Elliot Chartock and Charles Weinburg, who both threw 30+ assists, and the dynamic defensive duo of the Drost twins? That remains to be seen, but one thing remains certain: the Empire are always a threat, as long as they have weapons like Ben Jagt, Jack Williams, John Randolph, and Antoine Davis; and if the rest of their roster can perform, New York can challenge any team in the league. The Breeze have won their last two matchups against the Empire, but the all-time series still favors New York by a 14-20 margin, including playoff games. Expect the series to continue to be hotly contested, as the Breeze continue to chase a championship and the Empire seek to return to dominance.