Photo by Kevin Leclaire – UltiPhotos.com

AUGUST 27, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh

Although the DC Breeze 2025 season came to an abrupt end in Boston, there were lots of highlights and great moments, as the Breeze earned their ninth consecutive playoff berth (and claimed the longest active streak of qualifying for the postseason in the league.) Now that a champion has been crowned in 2025, let's take a look back at the highs and lows of the DC Breeze’s 12th season as a member of the UFA.

Early Season Struggles

The Breeze kicked off their season as heavy favorites at home against the Philadelphia Phoenix. However, the Breeze were missing key players and struggled against a fiery Phoenix squad that has always kept it close against the Breeze. DC threw an uncharacteristic 12 hucks and struggled to connect on them with only two completions. Cole Jurek was the spark on offense, with the cutter scoring five goals to open his 2025 campaign. But, despite the poor performance from the Breeze, the D-line would have a clear cut chance to send the game to overtime. Unfortunately, rookie Theo Shapinsky couldn't reel in the pass from AJ Merriman, and Philadelphia earned their first win over the Breeze since 2017.

After falling against Philly, the Breeze would get a second chance to defend Carlini Field against the Toronto Rush. This time, excellent offensive work from Christian Boxley boosted the Breeze to a positive result, as they grinded out a one-goal victory over their Canadian opponents. The Breeze jumped out to an early lead and held a three-goal lead at half, but a late surge by the Rush made the game interesting, with the Breeze clinging to a one-goal lead against the rebuilt Rush as time expired.

The first Breeze road trip of the year came in week three when the Breeze made the trip down to Carolina to play the Flyers in their only out-of-division matchup of the season. After some questionable early season showings, this performance on the road against a perennial contender settled the nerves of Breeze fans. The Jurek and Boxley duo looked unstoppable downfield, and Tyler Monroe also had a great game with three assists and three goals, as the offense put on a stellar display with just eight turnovers in the two-goal victory over Carolina.

The Breeze ended the first third of their season hosting the preseason East Division favorite Boston Glory at Carlini Field. Boston came into the game equally hot, coming off an overtime victory over New York and showed their defensive pedigree, as they held the Breeze to just 11 goals and forced 22 turnovers out of DC. Moussa Dia did his best to keep the Breeze in the game with a four block performance, but it wouldn't be enough, as the Glory took a commanding three-goal lead in the third quarter and held out. 

Canada Trip and New York Doubleheader

The DC Breeze entered the middle section of the season sitting at 2-2, perhaps not what fans were hoping for, but an okay standing, considering their opponents. The Breeze had to make the trip up to Canada to play back-to-back games in Toronto and Montreal, which is always a difficult trip, regardless of the team. The DC squad played another tight game against Toronto in Ontario, as the Rush continued to prove that they were much more dangerous than their record showed. Miles Grovic put on a dominant defensive performance, racking up five blocks, including the game-sealing block on Toronto’s last shot to the endzone. Thomas Edmonds also had a great game playing on his home turf for the first time in his UFA career, notghing five goals, and the ever-reliable Andrew Roy threw four assists to guide the Breeze past the Rush. 

Unfortunately, the fatigue and injuries of the close matchup in Toronto caught up with the Breeze, as they travelled to Montreal and crumbled against the fast pace of the aggressive Royal offense. Gus Norrbom and Jacques Nissen put up some of their best performances out of the handle set, combining for eight assists, but it didn't matter, as the Breeze offense posted a poor 54% hold percentage and struggled with the speed of Montreal's defense, as they threw 22 turnovers in a five-goal loss to the underdog Royal.

After splitting an exhausting Canada trip, the Breeze returned home to face their rival, the New York Empire at Carlini Field. A vintage eight-assist performance from Rowan McDonnell powered the Breeze past the Empire, and the DC defense, who had struggled up to this point, began to shape up. A focal point of the defense was the debut of Micah Wagner, who stepped out for his first UFA game and posted three blocks, a goal, and an assist. Former Atlanta Hustle man Aidan Downey also made his Breeze debut and added a cutting edge to the D-line with two assists and a goal. Downey’s offensive versatility, however, quickly earned him a move to primarily serving on the O-line. A game many thought would come down to the wire ended with the Breeze trouncing the Empire in the fourth quarter, winning the period 7-2 and the game by an eight-goal margin.

After a satisfying result at home, the Breeze hoped to follow it up with an equally-impressive result in New York. DC entered the matchup shorthanded, namely without Edmonds and Boxley and played a much closer game than the last showdown between the two rivals. New York’s John Randolph and Jack Williams played excellent games, as the tight contest went into overtime. The Breeze nearly won in first overtime, but a blown call by the officials let New York get off the game-tying throw after time had expired to send the game to double overtime where the Empire scored to secure the win.

The Playoff Push

With four games remaining, the Breeze sat at 4-4 in a hotly-contested East Division. Boston was undefeated, leading the division and was the only side to have secured the playoffs while all five other sides were in contention for the remaining two spots. The Breeze were looking to bounce back after a disappointing result against the Empire, and a game against the Royal, who had struggled on the road all season, was the perfect opportunity to do just that. The Breeze would jump out to an impressive 8-1 lead in the first quarter and rode the early lead to a whopping 12 goal victory over the Quebecois side. Jasper Tom and Wagner led a shutdown defensive performance, and Boxley scored five goals.

DC was one step closer to the playoffs but had two tough back-to-back matchups against Boston coming up. DC went on the road to face Boston first and kept it close in the first half before exploding in the third quarter to take a four-goal lead into the fourth against the undefeated Glory. However, the Glory did not go out quietly and tied the game up with 40 seconds remaining. The DC offense then worked quickly down the field, and McDonnell sent a low flick huck to the endzone for Edmonds to chase down. The Canadian hybrid made a spectacular diving grab to secure the disc and ultimately, the win to bring DC a huge step closer to the playoffs and deny Glory their opportunity to lock up a home playoff game.

The Breeze then faced Boston for a third time this season and a second time at home and with a win, could secure their trip to the playoffs. Boston was playing a weekend doubleheader and was fresh off a win against the Phoenix that secured the first seed in the East and chose to rest some key players for their trip to DC. Glory got out to an early-two goal lead, but without their more experienced players on defense, the Breeze eventually locked in and cruised to a four-goal victory with Roy ripping apart a young Boston defense with four assists, and rookie Coby Loveranes going deep for three goals. With this win, DC secured their ninth consecutive trip to the playoffs and confirmed that they would play host to New York in the first round.

There was however, one final regular season game to get through before the playoffs began: a trip to Philadelphia for a rubber match against the Phoenix. The Breeze, having already secured their playoff position, went into this matchup resting more than 10 players and perhaps lack a slight amount motivation, as they ended the season the same way they started with a loss to Philadelphia. It was a disjointed performance all around, as the Breeze offense never really got going, and the Phoenix were clearly motivated to complete their season sweep over the Breeze and post their first .500 season since 2022.

The Playoffs

Although it was a bumpy road, the Breeze achieved a goal of hosting a playoff game, despite falling just short of that game being the East Division Championship. DC faced off against New York, who had knocked them out of the playoffs three times in franchise history. Also notable was the controversial ending of the last matchup between the two sides, which was likely fresh in the mind of the Breeze players as they went into this game. DC had perhaps saved their best performance of the season for the playoffs, as they played a complete game on both sides of the disc in a dominant playoff victory over the Empire. Boxley played both sides of the disc and was excellent in all aspects of the game, keeping Randolph quiet on defense and scoring three goals, while throwing as many assists. Merriman absolutely commanded the D-line, throwing three assists and scoring two goals, as he led the defense to an incredible 13 breaks. It is also notable that the Breeze D-line kept former MVP Ben Jagt totally quiet and started out going 12/12 on break chances, as they didn't fail on a break chance until the fourth quarter in an all-time defensive playoff performance. With their massive victory against the Empire, the Breeze had booked their ticket to face Boston with the East Division title on the line. The Breeze had beaten Boston in their last two regular season matchups and carried a lot of momentum coming out of an impressive victory.

However, just as everything came together against New York, it fell apart just as quickly against Boston. Glory were incredibly patient with their offensive play and held the disc for so long that the Breeze barely got a look after falling behind. There were a few scarce chances for the Breeze to find their way back into the game, but as they were unable to convert a break chance until late in the 4th quarter, a comeback never materialized, and the Breeze fell short of Championship Weekend. It was a poor performance all around for the Breeze, as the O-line was suffocated by Boston’s size and pressure, and the D-line was unable to convert the few chances they did generate. All in all, the Breeze only scored nine goals, the fewest they have scored in a full game in franchise history. Its a painful loss for all of the Breeze players and fans, but perhaps most painful for franchise legends McDonnell and Jeff Wodatch, who were potentially in their last season for the Breeze and were unable to bring home a championship.

Writer's Accolades

Although the players, coaches and media are set to give out plenty of awards at the end of the season, having watched the Breeze all season, I figured I would give my own two cents on the many great players for the Breeze this season.

MVP: Rowan McDonnell - 42 AST, 24 GLS, 3 BLKS, 92.28 CMP%

The veteran and 2018 MVP earns my nod for team MVP, as he led the team in plus/minus and assists and was second in goals. McDonnell was the ultimate safety valve for the team this season and seemed to always come in with a clutch cut to bail out a late-stall situation. McDonnell made the great throw to win the road game against Boston and always seemed to have a crafty throw ready in redzone situations. Even as he ages and adjusts his game, McDonnell continues to remind fans why he is one of the best players in the world.

OPOY: Andrew Roy - 25 AST, 19 GLS, 3 BLKS, 97.86 CMP%

Andrew Roy is my Offensive Player of the Year for the Breeze, as he was Mr. Reliable in the handle set all season. Although I also heavily considered Christian Boxley and Cole Jurek for this title, Roy’s availability and reliability propelled him ahead of those two very talented cutters in my opinion. Roy was second in the league in total completions with 641, yet only threw fourteen turnovers and was one of the masterminds of the Breeze offense throughout the whole season. An underrated aspect of Roy is his ability to get open in tight spaces, whether for resets or difficult redzone goals. That, along with his ability to angle passes to perfection, made Roy invaluable in the redzone all season.

DPOY: Jasper Tom - 5 AST, 5 GLS, 11 BLKS, 97.75 CMP%

Jasper Tom earns Defensive Player of the Year, but this one was the most difficult one to decide, as it could easily be AJ Merriman or Miles Grovic, as well, but because of his reliability and his ability to settle down the D-line to capitalize on break chances, I think Tom deserves the award. Tom might not be the flashiest player on defense, but his positioning and high-pressure handler defense unsettles offenses and generates turnovers, even if he isn't the one getting the block. Tom is frequently targeted downfield due to his height, something we saw a lot against New York, but he has the ability to leap and contort himself to get blocks against much taller attackers. Tom is often the reset when the D-line has the disc, and despite the high amount of touches he fields, he only had one throwaway and one drop all season. 

ROY: Micah Wagner - 1 AST, 5 GLS, 6 BLKS, 100 CMP%

Although we only saw a small sample size from Micah Wagner, what we did see showed us how dominant he can be on the defensive side of the disc against some of the best players in the league. Fellow defender Ben Greenberg and O-liner Coby Loveranes are also worthy of Rookie of the Year, but Wagner’s impressive showings were too good to ignore. His physicality makes him a great defender in the deep space and in the air but also a useful target for break chances. Breeze fans should hope to see more from Wagner, and if he can keep up that production across a whole season, Wagner could be a future All-UFA defender.

Conclusion (by General Manager Sean Banks)

From all of us here at the Breeze, we can't thank you enough for your continued support of the DC Breeze. We hope you enjoyed Kyle's coverage all season, and we're very proud of his commitment to helping us tell the story of the 2025 DC Breeze. Rest assured, we'll be back stronger and better than ever in 2026, ready to compete for a UFA championship once again.

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