May 16, 2025
For the third time in just four games, the Los Angeles Aviators faced the San Diego Growlers in another SoCal rivalry game at Canyon Crest Academy. On College Homecoming and Growlers Alumni Night, the crowd turnout was great and many UCSD graduates were in attendance for their Alumni weekend as well.
The Growlers sprinted out of the gates with a hold, then Ethan Li's layout block led to a quick break with Jesse Cohen dishing to Reggie Sung, 2-0. After an Aviators drop, Max Gibson fired to KJ Koo for another break. Tom Konogeris joined the block party with an underneath layout, then Cohen fed Casey Shugarman for the conversion. On the next possession, Kobi McCracken intercepted a deep pass and San Diego quickly advanced the disc with another break score by Koo, 5-0. Despite two blocks from Gibson on the next possession, LA finally notched their first goal of the game. The first quarter ended with a couple turnovers by each team before the buzzer sounded, 5-1.
In the second quarter, the Aviators turned things around with an offensive hold and a break after a rare Growlers turnover in the red zone, 5-3. The Growlers had to work for the their next hold after a turnover in their own end zone, but Li intercepted the disc and eventually caught the bookend goal. Los Angeles held, then once again San Diego committed a short field turnover, but Matt Miller got the disc back with a block and Khalif El-Salaam ripped down the goal. The rivals traded holds, then Daniel Pryke denied a score with a layout ,and after a timeout, Koo threw to Casey Wu to secure the break, 9-5. LA held and took advantage of two unnecessary SD turnovers to score an unlikely buzzer-beater before halftime to keep it close, 9-7.
San Diego and Los Angeles traded multiple scores to start the third quarter, with Travis Dunn picking up two quick assists. The teams settled in with good offensive flow and trades, but at 14-12, both squads had multiple throwaways and Los Angeles called timeout with a great chance get within one. But LA's deep throw was intercepted by Koo, and the disc advanced up the field until El-Salaam put a beautiful backhand around his defender to Li for the score. The Growlers doubled-down with a Miller block, a timeout, and a buzzer-beater break score from Dunn to Wu for the 16-12 lead.
James Franklin was big bright spot for the Aviators all game long, and he continued his stellar play with another long backhand assist for the hold. The Growlers countered on offense, then punched in a break after a Cohen block, timeout, and Marcel Osborne's assist to El-Salaam, 18-13. The SoCal rivals traded holds again, then another Cohen layout block led to his assist to Sung for the break and total control of the game, 20-14, with 4:49 remaining. Los Angeles held and earned a late break, but San Diego ended the game with a Dunn goal as time expired and a convincing victory, 21-16.
The Growlers were led by Casey Wu with a +8 performance (2 assists, 5 goals, 1 block) and Jesse Cohen with a +6 outing (4 assists, 2 blocks). Next up, San Diego will travel to the east coast for critical games at Carolina and Atlanta on May 23-24. The Growlers rematch against the Atlanta Hustle on Saturday is the UFA Game of the Week on WatchUFA.tv!
