By Jonny Richardson
Game Preview: San Diego Growlers Host Houston Havoc in Lone Matchup of Season
The San Diego Growlers (4-2) host the Houston Havoc (1-4) on Saturday, May 31 at 6:30 pm PT at Mission Bay High School. The Growlers traveled to Houston back in 2023 in a cross division contest and earned a 23-17 win, but this is their first and only meeting in 2025.
The Growlers went 1-1 during their east coast road trip last weekend, winning 26-25 in double overtime against the Carolina Flyers and lost 23-19 against the Atlanta Hustle. Last Saturday marked the halfway point of the season for the Growlers who own a 4-2 record and sit in third place in the South Division behind the Austin Sol (4-0) and Atlanta Hustle (6-1), and ahead of the Havoc, Aviators (1-4) and Flyers (0-4). The top three teams in each division advance to the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) Playoffs, so this matchup is paramount for both teams to keep pace in the standings.
On May 16 at home, Houston recorded their first win of the season in shocking fashion with a 23-17 triumph over the Colorado Summit. The Havoc opened the season losing their first three games, two of which came against their Texas neighbor, the undefeated Austin Sol. On May 31, the Havoc played a wild double overtime game vs the Los Angeles Aviators, but ended up losing 20-19. Houston is led by Ben Lewis, Mark Turner, Jimmy Zuraw, and Xavier Fuzat, who also excelled yesterday in LA. The Havoc will no doubt be extra motivated after this latest result and will come out firing with nothing to lose.
The Growlers have been playing well and have a league leading six players that are averaging 4 or more scores (assists + goals) per game in Travis Dunn, Khalif El-Salaam, Matt Miller, Marcel Osborne, Jesse Cohen, and Oliver Artus. Matt Miller has 17 assists and is the primary engine that drives the Growlers offense, and leads the team and UFA in hockey assists, throwing yards and total yards. Jesse Cohen recently transitioned to offense and had a 7 assist, 6 goal, 0 turnover outing last weekend. Oliver Artus has been an emerging offensive threat in his second year and had a 4 assist, 9 goal performance last weekend. Travis Dunn (23 assists), Khalif El-Salaam (16 assists), and Marcel Osborne (17 goals) will all play key roles in this game and will provide a large quantity of scoring opportunities. Max Gibson has been a huge factor on defense with 10 blocks, which leads the team and is tied for first in the UFA.
Saturday's game will certainly be entertaining and it's also Youth Night, so all kids under 12 get FREE admission, plus there's a FREE youth ultimate frisbee clinic at 4:30 pm. Tickets can be found here, and fans can also stream the game live on WatchUFA.tv.
