June 5, 2026

After a tough loss to the Oakland Spiders the week before, the San Diego Growlers hosted the undefeated Austin Sol in an important South Division showdown.

The Sol received the opening pull and scored, and the Growlers answered back with a long but clean goal from Khalif El-Salaam to Daniel Brunker. After Will Turner's huge layout block, San Diego called timeout, but two throwaways sandwiched by an unfortunate Brunker injury led to an Austin hold. The Sol were energized on the next couple of possessions and earned the first two breaks of the game to take a 4-1 lead. The Growlers bounced back with a Brandon Van Deusen assist to Peter Lenz. On the next point, Lenz stayed on the field and registered a block, then Brandon Severson launched a disc that was tipped in the end zone but caught by KJ Koo for a break. Next, it was Max Gibson with the interception and after a couple more turnovers, Jonah Rominski fed Michael Tran just before the quarter ended to tie the game at 4-4.

San Diego began the second quarter by advancing the disc easily downfield, but an uncharacteristic red zone turnover led to an Austin break. The Growlers held, then despite an amazing layout block by Reggie Sung, another red zone throwaway yielded a Sol hold. Once again, the Growlers punched in a Steven Milardovich to El-Salaam hold, but after a Turner block, an immediate throwaway doomed another break chance. Austin then immediately took advantage of an intercepted pass on the next play and promptly scored to take the 8-6 lead. The teams traded, then after a Koo assist to Dunn, San Diego broke to tie the game at 9s with a UCSD alumni score from Gibson to Stefan Samu. The teams traded scores, punctuated by an El-Salaam assist to Oliver Artus, then an interception to deny an Austin score.

The Sol dealt with a fiery Growlers defense immediately after halftime, which led to a drop and a huge forehand huck from Gibson to a diving El-Salaam for the break score. After another highlight reel block from Turner, San Diego called timeout and Artus fed captain Kyle Rubin for a second consecutive break, 12-10. The teams traded a couple scores, then Austin delivered a great defensive interception in the red zone and marched the other way for the break to tie the game at 14-14.

In the fourth quarter, a quick Growlers turnover resulted in a short field break score for the Sol. San Diego held, caused an Austin throwaway, called timeout, and Rubin dished to Koo for the break and a 16-15 lead. The back and forth flow of the game continued after a Sol hold on offense and then a break score reclaimed the lead 17-16. A circus bobble catch from Jonathan McGurrin followed, then Lenz intercepted a Sol pass, only for Austin to get the disc back and secure a key hold with 2:30 remaining. San Diego misfired on their next deep shot, and Austin slowly worked the disc up the field only to throw it away on the goal line with 57 seconds remaining. The Growlers marched down the field and after a couple of foul calls, El-Salaam found Rubin for the tying goal, 18-18, with 11 seconds left on the clock. With one chance left, the Sol sent the disc flying into the endzone, but Artus swatted it away for overtime.

Austin was unsuccessful with a deep huck on their first possession of OT, but San Diego gave it right back a few throws later for an easy hold. The Growlers then followed suit with an overthrown turnover as well, but Van Deuesen rose up for a timely block, and Koo eventually unleashed a hammer to Tynan Sander for the goal, 19-19. The Sol proceeded to drain some time off the clock and scored with 1:10 left to go ahead 20-19. The Growlers took their time as they advanced up the field and were setting up well to tie the game, but one last throwaway in the endzone proved too costly to overcome, and Austin ran out the clock to stay undefeated and steal a key road win.

The Growlers were led by Khalif El-Salaam (4 assists, 3 goals, 1 block) with a +6 performance, and KJ Koo (2 assists, 3 goals) with a +5 effort. With 20 total turnovers in the game, San Diego will need to limit their mistakes and keep better possession of the disc to have a chance at a playoff berth.

Next up, San Diego will face a road test and cross-division matchup vs the Colorado Apex on Saturday, June 13.