July 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Greg Siller / Active7media

After a 25-15 victory over the Houston Havoc at home a week before, the San Diego Growlers hosted the Las Vegas Bighorns on July 4 at Torrey Pines HS. San Diego needed just two more wins to clinch third place and a playoff berth in the South Division.

On a warm and windy afternoon in San Diego, the Growlers got off to a great start when Will Turner intercepted an errant throw and fed Jonah Rominski for the break. The Bighorns held on the next point despite a block from Eli Salmon, and the Growlers countered with a patient offensive score from Jonathan Lyle to Brandon Van Deusen. Vegas held, then took advantage of Growlers turnovers on three break scores in a row to take an early lead 5-2. Daniel Brunker stopped the bleeding with a goal, but Vegas doubled down with a hold and another break, 7-3. San Diego regained their focus and structure when captain Kyle Rubin dished to Lyle for the goal, then Clark Wang fed Salmon for the break score, 7-5. The Growlers prevented the Bighorns' end of quarter deep attempt with a timely block from Jordan Queckboerner.

San Diego marched the disc downfield to begin the second quarter and Matt Miller connected with Marcel Osborne for the goal. The teams found their rhythm with 3 holds each, then the Growlers notched a much needed break when Shun Iwata caught Turner’s forehand huck to tie the game at 10s. The final wild possession of the first half featured multiple turnovers, but after a timeout, Khalif El-Salaam threw a hammer in the end zone that deflected off Oliver Artus, then a Bighorn defender, and fell into the arms of Lyle for the buzzer-beater break score, 11-10.

Coming out of halftime, Rominski tallied a block, which led to an El-Salaam assist to Iwata for a break. The Bighorns had a quick throwaway for an Iwata to Colin Sunde break, then Max Gibson deflected the disc leading to a Turner to Salmon break. Two more Vegas turnovers yielded San Diego break scores from Lyle and Osborne, 16-10. The Growlers had another opportunity, but the Bighorns eventually held to stop an eight goal scoring streak. San Diego held, and after a Vegas throwaway, Abe Shklar found Rominski for the break. The Bighorns held, and San Diego was able to beat the buzzer once again when Van Deusen found Osborne, 19-12.

The Growlers held to start the fourth quarter, then after a Sam Good block, El-Salaam linked up with Rominski for a break. The teams traded, and after a Lyle block, Rominski laid out for a highlight reel goal, 23-10. With a ten goal margin and time winding down, the outcome was not in question, and the teams traded out until San Diego secured the 28-18 victory!

The Growlers were led by Jonathan Lyle (4 assists, 4 goals, 2 blocks) with a phenomenal +8 performance, and Khalif El-Salaam (8 assists) with a superb +7 effort. Additionally, Marcel Osborne (2 assists, 4 goals, 1 block), Daniel Brunker (1 assist, 4 goals, 1 block), and Jonah Rominski (4 goals, 1 block) all contributed great +5 games respectively.

Next up, San Diego will host the Vegas Bighorns on Saturday, July 18 at Clairemont HS at 6:30 pm. If the Growlers win their final regular season game, they will officially clinch the #3 seed in the South Division playoffs!