PHOTO BY: ALAN BLOODGOOD
BY SHAGGY SHRAGIS
A historic win for the Hotbirds, who defeated defending Eastern Division champion DC Breeze 16 to 15 Saturday night. This was the first victory over the Breeze since 2017, ending an eight year drought for Philadelphia. The big win also has their record at 1-0 and tied with Boston for first place in the division; the first time since 2021 Philadelphia has found themselves in first place at any point during the season.
More surprising than the win was how the Phoenix achieved their success: better defense from the O-line, and better hands than the Breeze. Wind plagued both teams, but Philadelphia had fewer drops, and despite attempting 60 fewer passes than their 302 2024 season average, and turning the disc 26 times, the Phoenix still scored efficiently enough to knock off DC.
Sean Mott and Scott Heyman both had monster games, they combined for eight turnovers between them, drove the offense downfield through windy conditions, constantly finding open receivers and key resets to keep possessions alive and the disc moving. Pastor led the Phoenix with five goals, four coming in the second half. While Greg Martin, who had a difficult throwing night, chipped in with three goals as well. Perhaps the most important pieces on offense were the least statistically relevant. Will Tober was sensational as the newest piece on the offense — despite a gut wrenching drop in the fourth quarter — constantly finding space underneath and distributing downfield to the finishing cutters, a role reflected in his 351 total yards.
While without the flashy stats, the defense also had an extraordinary outing holding Jacques Nissen and Rowan McDonnell, two primary ball movers for the DC offense, to a -2 overall, and forcing four turnovers out of a typically pristine Nissen. Not statistically reflected, but equally important was how much time Philly’s defense spent slowing down the Breeze. No points demonstrated that better than the four minute, 21 second marathon point to kick off the second half, and the 18 completion break to end the first quarter. While flatter marks and sagging off the resets allowed several easy completions, Andrew Roy ended the night 68/69 with 450 throwing yards. Forcing that level of methodical execution from the Breeze offense paid dividends for the Phoenix in the end. Justin Keller and Paul Owens had impressive showings as primary quarterbacks for the D-line. Nate Little had a monster night on defense, credited with two blocks and forcing at least one more turnover. An area of weakness Philadelphia will need to shore up was their performance against DC’s best cutter: Cole Jurek. Jurek finished with 5 goals, an assist and nearly 400 receiving yards.
Even with the win, Philly failed to meet their preseason goal — win every fourth quarter. The Hotbirds led 16-12 with five minutes left, but five turnovers by the offense over the final four possessions nearly cost Philadelphia the game. All five were easily preventable, coming from a combination of drops and poorly thrown passes to open receivers. That near collapse should serve as motivation for Philadelphia moving forward. “I’m upset with how the game went even though I’m glad we won, in some ways that's a good place to be,” said Matt Hanna, whose zero turnovers on 17 completions were crucial for the Phoenix offense.
The Hotbirds have an immediate opportunity to right that wrong as next week they host the Toronto Rush, Sunday May 4th at Neumann University. Toronto was off this week, but enters the season with a double header, as they will travel to DC to play the Breeze on Saturday before roving back north to meet the Phoenix on Sunday. Toronto won every meeting between the Rush and the Phoenix from 2013 — their first season in the league when they won a championship — until 2018. Philly has won all eight meetings since. Toronto was one of the worst teams in 2024, with their only win coming against Pittsburgh, losing all 11 games played within the division.
However, Toronto has retooled and refueled, unretiring Mark Lloyd in addition to returning Ty Barbieri and the Lewis brothers, three standouts from their 2023 team who did not play in 2024. Mark Lloyd, who has not played since 2018, has notably never lost to Philadelphia. They also bring in a veritable all star squad of European elite club players. This is a very different Canadian squad heading into 2025 than we saw at the end of the 2024 season, and it is helpful for Philadelphia that they will get to watch their debut against the DC Breeze before facing them the following day.
One interesting wrinkle: how these additions reshape the Rush deep game. Toronto ended the 2023 season top ten in huck attempts, their last season with the Lewises and Ty Barbieri, plus the return of Mark Lloyd, a B52 style bomber. Memorable to Phoenix fans would be the June 10, 2023 victory in Toronto, where despite escaping with the win, Ty Barbieri and James Lewis combined for 1400 yards. In 2024, Toronto completed some of the fewest hucks per game, suffering from an absence of dangerous deep threats and a dearth of long shot throwers. Philadelphia struggled against hucks in 2024, and despite an admirable showing in a wind plagued DC Breeze game — another team not known for its hucks — Toronto should be walking into Delaware County looking to test Philly’s deep defenders. For the Hotbirds to continue their hot streak, look for deep defenders like Nate Little, Mike Campanella, and Eric Witmer to continue to elevate their performance.
The Phoenix defeated DC by outworking them in windy conditions, but Sunday's forecast calls for clear skies and very little wind. Sean Mott and Scott Heyman, who led the playmaking charge for Philly this past weekend, need to up their efficiency in good conditions. The Hotbirds proved they could win an ugly game, but the jury is still out on whether or not the offense has the chops to string together consecutive holds to win a clean game.
Despite Toronto’s additions, Philadelphia has been too successful against the Rush in recent memory and are coming fresh off a very impressive win in DC, so the Phoenix are expected to win this matchup. This is an enormous test for Philly’s rookie coaching staff, who went from underdogs to favorites overnight. Roger Chu, the winningest coach in Phoenix history, was criticized for failing to beat New York, Boston, and DC in big moments, however he also won 11 of 12 games against Montreal and Toronto, bringing a level of consistency unheard of in Philadelphia up to that point. Dave Brandolph, Bill Maroon, Adam Callahan and Andrew Haviland, all brand new as coaches of the Hotbirds, have to prove that not only can they orchestrate an upset, but they can hold the line as favorites.
See if the Hotbirds have what it takes to stay on top, get your tickets to the Home Opening game this Sunday, May 4 at Neumann University, opening pull at 2 p.m.
