May 31, 2025

After a double overtime loss the night before in LA, the Houston Havoc (1-4) traveled south to face a confident San Diego Growlers (4-2) team at Mission Bay HS. The Growlers defeated the Havoc back in 2023 in interdivisional play, but this was their first matchup as South Division opponents.

The teams started with a couple of offensive holds, then Casey Shugarman denied a deep attempt, and Ben Levinsky connected with Khalif El-Salaam for the break and the lead 3-2. On the next point, the Growlers doubled down with another break as Travis Dunn recorded a block and an assist to Matt Miller. The teams traded, then Will Turner intercepted the disc on a goal line stand, then Levinsky found Max Hume for a break, 6-3. More trading ensued from the offenses before the Havoc were able to sneak a deep throw behind the Growlers defense for an end of quarter goal, 7-5.

San Diego's offense suffered through some miscues to start the second quarter and surrendered two consecutive breaks to the Havoc, 7-7. The Growlers got back on track with a Jesse Cohen to Marcel Osborne score, but the Havoc answered with a jump ball skying grab in the end zone. The teams traded two holds on offense, with Houston once again scoring last before halftime, and the Growlers Hail Mary attempt fell to the turf, 10-10.

The Growlers made some defensive adjustments to limit the Houston's deep game, and Hume promptly intercepted the disc and fed Ethan Li for a break. A few holds later, rookie Elliott Eve produced a hand block, a possession saving layout grab, and an assist to El-Salaam in his first UFA game! With this shift in momentum, Osborne intercepted a dump throw and Turner quickly dished back to Osborne for the bookend break, 14-11. The teams traded scores, then Shugarman earned another block and secured the break with an assist to El-Salaam, 16-12. After a Houston throwaway, and a San Diego timeout, Miller saved the possession with a diving grab then dished to Osborne for a break, 17-12. The Havoc had one last chance to score at the buzzer, but Shugarman intercepted the disc in the end zone for his third block with San Diego taking firm control of the game.

San Diego extended its lead with an offensive hold scored by Oliver Artus and Houston followed suit with a goal as well. KJ Koo dropped a dime to Cohen on offense, then Levinsky tallied another block and Bryce Lozinski tossed a perfect backhand down the sideline to El-Salaam to seal the game, 20-13. The teams traded several scores before the Growlers notched one more break, and as time expired the San Diego earned a dominant victory, 25-17.

The Growlers were led by Marcel Osborne (2 assists, 5 goals, 1 block) with a +8 performance, and both Matt Miller (4 assists, 1 goal, 2 blocks) and Travis Dunn (4 assists, 2 goals, 1 block) contributed +6 games. Next up, San Diego will host the first place and undefeated Austin Sol (4-0) on Saturday, June 7 at Mission Bay HS, which could likely be a playoff preview!