In a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the San Diego Growlers traveled north to Irvine to face the Los Angeles Aviators on July 5. During pre-game warm-ups, Travis Dunn unfortunately injured his lower back and was unable to play, meaning the rest of the pack would need to step up in his absence.
The Aviators came out hot and started with a hold on offense and a break after taking advantage of the third Growlers turnover of the point. San Diego settled down with an easy Daniel Brunker to KJ Koo score, and each team traded goals, with LA really needing to work hard on their possessions. On the next point, a Growlers sideline double-team resulted in a Tynan Sander interception, followed by a Bryce Lozinski dish to Max Hume for a break, 3-3. The SoCal rivals exchanged goals, with the Aviators scoring last as the Growlers were unable to cash in on their last possession of the quarter, 5-4.
To start the second quarter, the Growlers held despite an Aviators block and timeout, and then San Diego took their first lead when Will Turner found Jesse Cohen for the break score, 6-5. The teams traded, then Cohen intercepted a dump pass, and after a timeout, Khalif El-Salaam connected with Marcel Osborne for the break, 8-6. San Diego had the momentum now and proceeded to rattle off two more breaks with a Lozinski to Reggie Sung goal and a Kyle Rubin to Brunker score. Los Angeles stopped the bleeding with a goal, and the Growlers were once again denied before the halftime buzzer sounded, but still led 10-7.
The third quarter followed the same trajectory as the first, with the Aviators holding then securing a break score. The Growlers responded well with a Matt Miller deep strike to El-Salaam who was too strong in the air. Los Angeles doubled down with a hold and a break to tie the game at 11-11. San Diego countered with a key hold and a break of their own when Kobi McCracken intercepted an errant LA throw, and Casey Shugarman fed Hume for the goal. The Growlers had a chance to break again after a timeout, but the Aviators kept fighting an earned a Callahan for the hold. San Diego held and a Shugarman layout block denied LA's attempt to score at the end of the quarter, 14-12.
The Growlers began the fourth quarter with a highlight reel play when Brunker assisted to a diving El-Salaam to extend their lead. The rivals traded, then the Aviators took advantage of a throwaway and eventually finished off a break score to get within one, 16-15. San Diego calmly marched down the field with a goal from Max Gibson, and the teams traded a couple scores each, capped by a brilliant end zone toe-tap by Brunker. At 19-17, Ben Levinsky sprinted 50 yards for a big layout block, and Cohen eventually found Sander for the break score with 2:10 remaining. The teams traded scores, but San Diego forced LA to take too much time off the clock and the Growlers completed the 4-0 season sweep of the Aviators with a 21-19 victory.
The Growlers were led by Daniel Brunker (2 assists, 4 goals, 1 block) with a +6 performance, and Khalif El-Salaam (3 assists, 3 goals) and Max Hume (3 goals, 1 block) contributed great +4 games as well. With a 7-4 record, San Diego will enjoy a bye this weekend and will be rooting for a Carolina Flyers loss to the Atlanta Hustle which would clinch a playoff spot for the Growlers. The final game of the regular season is in Oakland on July 19 only on WatchUFA.tv.
