Photo by Kevin Leclaire – UltiPhotos.com

JUNE 7, 2026
By Will Stuntz

Washington, D.C. – The DC Breeze (6-2) hosted the Carolina Flyers (6-2) this Friday for their tenth meeting in Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) history, and the Breeze took a 24-22 victory to up the score against their greatest rival outside of the East Division to 7-3 all-time. 

This week marks the second consecutive game for DC with AJ Merriman sidelined, who’s been stellar for the Breeze’s offensive and defensive units. Merriman led DC in total points played until last night, when three players surpassed him. Merriman’s absence, among others, has allowed DC to show off its incredible depth, with young players like Miles Grovic and Isaac Lee stepping into bigger roles and getting the job done. 

Carolina wasn’t without missing pieces of their own, as Allan Laviollete, who put up eight scores and 604 yards in last year's match against DC was unavailable for the game. But, they’ve also seen young players step into key roles. Tobias Brooks has recently joined the Flyers after the completion of the college season, and he’s already made a huge impact. Also, the 2026 D-1 Men’s Callahan award winner, Zeke Thoreson played in a Flyers uniform for the first time this weekend and showed why he earned the greatest honor in college ultimate. Jacob Fairfax, who has scored the sixth-most goals in UFA history, has also elevated his play to a new level in recent weeks.

Thoreson and Brooks led the Flyers in assists, with five apiece, while each of them racked up 525+ yards. Brooks also found the disc in the endzone twice, and Thoreson once. Thoreson also picked up six hockey assists and two blocks, which were both team-highs. Leading Carolina’s cutting attack was Grayson Sanner, who amassed five goals, two assists and a 100% completion rate. 

For DC, Sean Mott was handling the offense, throwing five assists and two hockey assists, while bringing in a goal and totaling 498 yards with a 98% completion rate. Grovic also posted another great performance, despite going down with an injury early in the second period and not returning until late in the third, throwing four assists and scoring a goal. Jacques Nissen had another productive night on offense with four assists, a goal, and a block. For the DC D-line, Lee came up huge with a career-high four assists to go along with a goal and a 100% completion rate.

The first quarter started with Carolina getting an easy hold, as Jacob Louie got the disc on the goal line and punched it in to Brooks. DC responded quickly when Coby Loveranes unleashed a 65-yard backhand to Theo Shapinsky, who chased it down in the endzone. Carolina found another hold, then Matt Tucker picked off a pass from Andrew Roy, which led to Carolina’s first break to give them an early 3-1 lead. The Breeze brought it back within one when Grovic leaped to make a grab in the midfield before immediately letting off a 54-yard huck from the flick side to find Shapinsky in the endzone. DC and Carolina both found a few more holds, giving Carolina a two-score lead. Then Carolina’s Suhas Madiraju blocked a huck attempt from Loveranes, and Tucker let off a huck to Owen Stout for another Carolina break, putting them up three. Carolina held the three-score lead until the final point, when they got another break chance from a DC miscue on the goal line. But, Carolina didn’t take advantage of the opportunity and threw it away, and with little time remaining, Mott delivered a buzzer-beater 53-yard cross-field flick that was hauled in by Christian Boxley over a sea of white jerseys to bring DC’s deficit to two after the initial period. 

DC started the second period off right with a clean hold to bring their deficit to one, thanks to a few point-saving aerial catches from Gabe Dowd and a diving grab from Grovic that led to his short-term injury. Luke Rehfuss recorded a block on the next point to give DC the game-tying break chance. But, Thoreson picked off a pass to take away the break chance, before he threw it to Elijah Long and cut to the endzone. Long then sent a runner to Thoreson, who chased it down to extend their lead back to two. Carolina quickly regained their three-score advantage with a block from Suraj Madiraju, and after a wholesale substitution, Thoreson made the goal-line dish to Dylan Hawkins for the Flyers’ third break. DC and Carolina went back and forth with holds, leading to Carolina holding an 11-9 lead. Then DC’s D-line got busy, as it got a break chance from a dropped pass from Thoreson, and Wiebe van den Brink delivered a quick blade to Kevin Healey in the endzone for DC’s first break. Carolina’s O-line gave up the disc again, and Lee let off a flick from thirty yards out that found Tyler Husband in the endzone for the game-tying score and the rookie's first-ever UFA goal. No more breaks occurred in the second period, and a throwaway on DC’s buzzer-beater chance gave Carolina a one-score lead heading into halftime at 13-12.

The third period started with a disorderly Carolina O-line point that saw Carolina turn it over twice and DC once, before Lee unleashed a 53-yard bomb to Micah Wagner, who made a spectacular layout grab in the endzone to tie up the game. Then Carolina blundered again, as Brooks dropped a pass in the Flyers’ red zone, and all it took was one cross-field pass from Lee to Frederick Farah for DC to take their first lead of the game. Carolina quickly tied it back up as Sanner, who’d been hauling in hucks all night, let off a huck of his own to Brooks, who brought it down in in the endzone. Nissen gave Carolina a break chance on the next point as his endzone shot to Dowd was too long, but he quickly made up for it with a block, and Mott connected with Loveranes in the endzone to regain the lead. Then, DC’s D-line showed off their active hands again, as van den Brink soared for a block in Carolina’s red zone and immediately punched it into Raymond Lu for the 16-14 lead. Another Carolina throwaway came, and van den Brink continued to show off his athleticism with two point-saving layout grabs, but unfortunately, one of them led to him needing to come off the field. Head Coach Xavier Maxstadt called in Nissen for the substitution, and he made the goal-line dish to Wagner to extend the Breeze’s lead to 17-14. DC and Carolina traded holds until the score reached 19-17, then Williams took away DC’s last O-line chance, and Suhas Madiraju sent the buzzer-beater flick huck to the endzone, and Williams hauled in the score, cutting DC’s advantage to one heading into the final stanza. 

Carolina started the period hot, as DC received the pull, and a Christian Belus block led to a Carolina timeout, and they sent out the O-line to take care of the game-tying break chance. Brooks went cross-field to Louie, who made a fantastic diving grab, and DC’s once-substantial lead was gone. Nissen then connected with Mott on the next point to retake the lead at 20-19. Then, following a pattern that’s become familiar in recent weeks, DC’s D-line went off in the final period. Two unforced throwaways and a block from Joshua Lightner led to three consecutive breaks for the Breeze, putting them on a 4-0 run that gave them a four-score advantage with under six minutes to play. Carolina tried their best to make a run, and they even recorded two more breaks, but a DC hold and late throwaway from Thoreson that never took flight, led to DC taking the two-score victory. 

The Breeze now sit at 6-2, which puts them at third in the East, and half a game behind the New York Empire (6-1) and Boston Glory (6-1). If DC can beat Boston by six next week, they will move up to second place. That game takes place on Saturday, June 13, at Carlini Field. First pull takes off at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets available at thedcbreeze.com and streaming live at watchUFA.tv.