BY: Alex “Shaggy” Shragis
Photo By: Don Mennig
A wonderful night for fans of Eric Nardelli as the Phoenix took to the field Wednesday evening for their first matchup against the New York Empire, revelling in the game’s secondary theme of “Nard Night”. Attendees were given large Eric Nardelli bigheads while Nardelli was honored for his 10 seasons in the UFA with the Phoenix, threw out the ceremonial opening pull and joined the broadcast team in the third quarter. A mainstay on the defensive line for over a decade, Nardelli was a fixture for nearly every moment in Hotbird history, and it was an important night for the team with regards to honoring its history and the legacy of its stars.
Unfortunately, the Phoenix were less successful on the field, where despite getting the game’s first break, Philadelphia lost 17-28 against the visiting New York Empire. The Phoenix continued to struggle after the turn, allowing the Empire to break on 13 of 16 opportunities — really 13 of 15 as the final break chance came in the last minute of the fourth quarter and New York’s D-Line opted to run out the clock rather than look to score.
The Phoenix have continued to build around their young core, as Ezra Beidler-Shenk, Ethan Holmgren and Owen Erdman led the team in touches. Beidler-Shenk and Erdman had particularly electric games, as the former Masterman High School teammates combined for eight assists, five goals, and over 1000 yards. Between those three, Scott Heyman, Tyler Mackey, Nolan McCloskey, Sam Davies, Drew Loughnane, the debut of Becker Joseph, as well as the young for his age Brandon Pastor, Philly has an abundance of fresh talent who had shining moments throughout the game.
While the Phoenix had an excellent first and third quarter, out-scoring the Empire 10-9 during those periods, New York roughed them up in the even segments, with a combined 19-7 advantage through the second and fourth. One issue for Philly was their over-reliance on the deep game, where they ended the night 10/17 on hucks. While the 59% completion percentage is not ideal, the bigger issue was how poorly they performed on the turn. If the team is going to play high-variance offense, they need to be able to get the disc back, and they were simply unable to regain possessions after throwing the frisbee away.
It's a quick turnaround for the Hotbirds, who face off against DC Breeze on Friday in the return of former teammate and longtime Phoenix legend, Sean Mott, who currently plays for the Breeze. That deep game will continue to be a factor, as a much shakier DC Breeze deep defense is allowing a far better completion on opponent hucks than New York. Part of that is schematic, as DC has limited teams to just 10.6 huck attempts per game, the fewest in the league this season. It is unlikely they will maintain that, as the Phoenix are completing 9.1 hucks per game — second in the league — and completing them at a fairly high rate. DC has thrown a fraction of the hucks, 30 fewer across the same number of games, and is converting them at a much lower rate.
DC has struggled to find their identity in 2026, as the offense, previously top 5 in efficiency every year since 2018, now finds itself 10th in O-Line conversion rate. Part of the issue for DC has been injuries and availability. While Jacques Nissen, Andrew Roy and Sean Mott have played every game, the rest of the offense has cycled through, limited due to injuries or other concerns. Aidan Downey, Gus Norbom and Cole Jurek — three integral pieces to the DC offense in years past — have yet to play in 2026, and look unlikely to play in Friday’s game in Philadelphia. AJ Merriman is set to return from injury in this game however, and the former DPOY could help both the flailing DC deep game and their ability to maintain defensive effort on a turn.
For the Phoenix, Philly needs to get a decent enough performance out of their offense to allow the defense to pressure a potentially vulnerable DC squad. The DC defense has performed much worse than New York’s this season. The Phoenix’s same run-and-gun approach the Empire stymied could have success against the less stingy Breeze team. However, the Phoenix offense has struggled to apply pressure all season, and had difficulty converting on breaks when given the opportunity. Philadelphia ranks towards the bottom in Break Percentage and D-Line Conversion Rate, and are last in the league in blocks for the season, tied with the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds who have played two fewer games.
Piling on the struggle is the quick turnaround, which could weigh on a team already dealing with nagging injuries. This could be a big spot for rookie Becker Joseph, who debuted on Wednesday against the Empire. Becker, recently named the 2026 Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year and Second Runner Up Overall ROTY for D-I Collegiete Men’s Players by Ultiworld, provided excellent service as a puller, and was tasked with the difficult responsibility of covering Daan De Maree, perhaps the best player in the league. A shorter, squirlier DC team plays to Becker’s strengths, potentially leading to a good performance for the rookie! See how the action all plays out this Friday, July 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Neumann University. The Phoenix are celebrating a Star Spangled 250 with pregame events including a pick-up game on the turf field starting at 3:30 p.m. and Tailgate at 5:00 p.m. Get your tickets at the Hotbird Web Shop: phoenixulti.com.
