By Jonny Richardson

San Diego Opens Season With Dominant 19-12 Win Over LA In Front Of Home Crowd

The 2025 UFA Season officially started on April 24, but San Diego enjoyed a bye and had to wait and watch the action. On May 3, the Growlers Home Opener had finally arrived, and like many years before, they faced a familiar SoCal rival, the Los Angeles Aviators. Unlike previous years, this game was now a South Division matchup, after an offseason realignment moved both teams out of the West.

After a quick break score by Los Angeles within the first minute of action, the two rivals exchanged offensive holds until the Growlers recorded back-to-back breaks with goals from Ben Levinsky and Stefan Samu to take a 4-2 lead. The Aviators took advantage of a costly San Diego midfield turnover with 17 seconds remaining to score just before the buzzer sounded, 4-3. These teams knew each other well, but they were also getting used to new player additions on both sides.

The Aviators began the second quarter with a hold on offense, then each squad exchanged scores to tie the game at 5-5. This was the moment that momentum shifted in the Growlers favor, and also when the rain started. After Khalif El-Salaam threw an assist to Matt Miller for the hold, San Diego rattled off four consecutive breaks to take a 10-5 lead! Marcel Osborne and Bryce Lozinski each recorded a block and Ethan Li earned two blocks in the same point. Osborne and Miller each scored twice in the quarter with Michael Tran and Reggie Sung also contributing goals.

Los Angeles regrouped at halftime and once again opened another quarter with a break score. However, the Growlers picked up three more breaks. In the wet and windy conditions, the Growlers had four more blocks from Li (his third of the game), Lozinski, Miller and Max Hume. Jesse Cohen, Tran, Levinsky and Samu each scored, and Osborne tallied his third goal of the game. By increasing their lead to 15-8 at the end of the third quarter, San Diego squashed any legitimate chance of an LA comeback.

Both teams traded to start the final quarter, with the Aviators earning a break to pull within 16-10. The next back and forth possession produced an unbelievable highlight from El-Salaam laying out for the disc, sliding on the slick turf,  then launching a perfect backhand assist to KJ Koo! The Growlers notched two more breaks to take total control with the Aviators scoring a couple more times. Travis Dunn and Hume each scored their first goals of the season and the Growlers secured the convincing home win 19-12. Full game highlights can be seen here.

Michael Tran led the pack with a +5 performance (2 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 Blocks), and Khalif El-Salaam (2G, 3A) and KJ Koo (2G, 1A, 1B) both had stellar games with +4 in a winning effort.

Growlers Pick Up Huge Road Win 25-16 In Irvine For a 2-0 Weekend

The Growlers opened the game with an offensive hold and two breaks with blocks from Khalif El-Salaam and Isamu Kawaguchi, and goals scored by Oliver Artus, Kobi McCracken and Max Gibson. Matt Miller, Marcel Osborne, Will Turner and Jesse Cohen also joined the goal scoring party to take a big 8-4 lead into the second quarter.

The Aviators fought back with a hold on offense and their only break of the game to get within two scores at 8-6. The next point featured a turnover and timeout from each team, but the Growlers prevailed on a Travis Dunn to Casey Wu goal. The teams traded, but Gibson and Cohen each had blocks that led to San Diego breaks, and a defensive stand to end the quarter preserved their 13-8 lead.

The third quarter was a tale of good offenses, with neither rival able to generate any break scores. Daniel Brunker was a steady offensive presence and scored two goals. The Growlers were able to win the quarter after a couple turnovers from each team and Dunn sent a floaty backhand to Artus in the endzone as time expired for the 19-13 lead.

Both teams continued to exchange scores again in the fourth quarter until San Diego picked up three consecutive breaks in the final 6:30. This ended a stretch of over 20 minutes without either team scoring a goal off a break opportunity. Casey Shugarman earned his first block of the year and Reggie Sung and Stefan Samu tallied break scores. The Growlers overwhelmed the Aviators and finished the double-header weekend with a 25-16 victory.

Travis Dunn led all players with a +9 performance (2G, 8A) and Marcel Osborne contributed a +6 (5G, 2A) game. Oliver Artus collected 4 goals and Matt Miller had 4 assists in the win.

Up Next

The Growlers will host the Atlanta Hustle for the first time ever on Friday, May 9 at Canyon Crest Academy at 7 pm. It's Teacher Appreciation and 90s Night, so Educators and Kids under 12 are FREE! Tickets can be purchased online or you can stream the game on WatchUFA.tv.