May 30, 2026

After a convincing victory vs the Las Vegas Bighorns the week before, the Growlers traveled back to Oakland to face the undefeated Spiders in the UFA Game of the Week!

On another windy day at Fremont Stadium, Oakland received the opening pull and scored quickly downwind, but San Diego countered when Kyle Rubin sent a huck to a skying Khalif El-Salaam. The Growlers had an early chance to break, but a Spiders layout block led to a hold. On the next possession, El-Salaam sent a perfect backhand 70 yards to a sprinting KJ Koo for the goal, 2-2. The teams traded downwind holds, highlighted by a Travis Dunn forehand assist to El-Salaam. Max Gibson produced a great block on a sideline trap, but the Growlers were unable to cash in on the break opportunity in Spiders territory. Oakland held, then generated their first break of the game right before the first quarter ended for a 6-4 lead.

KJ Koo initiated the scoring in the second quarter with a perfect flick to Dunn, but the Spiders were patient with a downwind goal of their own. The teams traded, then Oakland took control of the game with 2 breaks in a row for a 10-6 lead. The Growlers stopped the bleeding with a Dunn to Oliver Artus connection, but the Spiders answered right back. The teams traded several more scores and Oakland took a 13-9 lead into halftime. The Growlers main offensive handler, Matt Miller, was dealing with an ankle injury he suffered late in the first quarter which caused him to miss the rest of the game.

Oakland began the third quarter with a hold and a break, and threatened to score a third time in a row, but a layout block from Will Turner and a Jonathan McGurrin sky over two defenders gave the Growlers a much needed goal, 15-10. San Diego seized an opportunity after a Spiders turnover and notched a break score from Peter Lenz to El-Salaam. Oakland surged ahead once again with a hold and a break to increase their lead, 17-11. In a critical possession, the Growlers started at the back of their own end zone but worked their way upwind with a poised and patient score from Max Gibson to Michael Tran. The teams traded, then San Diego earned a break score after a timeout and a Brandon Van Deusen backhand to Koo, 18-14. 

The Growlers were once again patient as they weaved through the Spiders zone, and after 3:20 elapsed, Koo dished to Rubin for the score, 18-15. San Diego was gifted a great break opportunity on the next point, but a turnover proved costly and Oakland converted their hold. San Diego kept fighting but saw their win probability fade as a couple more throwaways led to two consecutive Oakland break scores, 21-15 with 3:41 remaining. The Growlers held with a tough Dunn catch in traffic, and then Dunn skied another defender for a break score, 21-17. With time winding down, the Spiders had too much of a cushion and scored a couple more times for the 23-17 win.

The Growlers were led by KJ Koo (4 assists, 3 goals) with a valiant +7 performance and Travis Dunn (3 assists, 4 goals, 1 block) excelled with a +6 game. Kyle Rubin (3 assists, 2 goals) and Khalif El-Salaam (1 assist, 3 goals) contributed great +4 and +3 games respectively.

Next up, San Diego will host the Austin Sol, on Friday, June 5 at Clairemont HS in a pivotal South Division matchup!