June 29, 2023
By Sam Weiger
DC Breeze at New York Empire
Friday, June 30 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
Over the next few weeks, the Empire have a chance to solidify their status as the favorites to win the AUDL championship. Their first test comes at home against one of the biggest threats to their title defense, division rival DC.
New York’s home winning streak has reached 26 games. This season in the Big Apple, the Empire are winning games by wider margins, completing more hucks, and scoring more goals. Jeff Babbitt, the 2023 Empire leading goal scorer and midseason AUDL MVP, has had a couple of standout performances against the Breeze in the past two years. This year, he had seven goals and three blocks in the Week 3 overtime win.
New York is the best team in the league at outplaying opponents in the final minutes of close games. If DC wants to beat the Empire, they will need to win a closely contested game with some crunch-time heroics. In the last two neck-and-neck battles against New York, Christian Boxley, Rowan McDonnell, AJ Merriman, and Benjamin Oort have come up big in the clutch. With Merriman and Oort out and McDonnell not playing well, the Breeze will need others to step up during do-or-die moments this week.
Keep an eye on Jonny Malks and Andrew Roy, who both made big plays in the fourth quarter of a nip and tuck game against Carolina a few weeks ago. Roy is usually the co-quarterback for DC’s offense, but it would be interesting to see him become the standalone QB1 in this game. In Week 3 against the Empire, Roy completed all 56 of his passes for almost 300 throwing yards. His passing accuracy has been exceptional in every game since then.
This is the second and last regular season meeting between New York and DC in 2023. We’re all counting down the minutes until the opening pull of one of the seven best games to watch this season.
One Big Number:
8.5 - In their four home games against playoff contenders this season, the Empire have won by an average of 8.5 goals per game.
99.21 - Roy has completed 99.21 percent of his passes in his last six games.
Salt Lake Shred at LA Aviators
Friday, June 30 - 10:30 PM/ET - Watch link
The Aviators are on fire, having won five straight games. They are fighting for the last playoff spot in the West Division and host an undefeated Salt Lake team who just lost a key player for the remainder of the year.
This will be Salt Lake’s first game without defensive standout Everett Saunders, who will be away from the team for the next couple of years. The Shred will remain a dangerous title contender if they can replace his blocking and scoring. Chad Yorgason is a great option to fill the void. He had the most assists, goals, total yards, hucks, and highest plus/minus of any Shred defensive player last year.
Saunders’ absence could benefit the Aviators’ O-line, which has been flying high during their current winning streak. The Aviators are finding the end zone more often and are really starting to show off their depth. Sean McDougall, Pawel Janas, and Brandon Van Deusen have been getting much-needed help from Michael Kiyoi and Marcel Osborne. In their last two games, Kiyoi and Osborne have each tallied 10 total scores.
LA’s offense will need to bring their A-game from start to finish if they want to take down Salt Lake. The Shred come into this game with the most goals per game (23.38) in the AUDL. Will Salt Lake and their high-powered offense be able to repeat their Week 4 blowout of the Aviators this week? Don’t bet on it.
One Big Number:
71 - Chad Yorgason had the most combined assists, goals, and blocks (71) of any defensive player in the AUDL in 2022.
24.2 - The Aviators have averaged 24.2 goals per game in their last five games, a notable increase from their average of 15.5 goals per game in their first four games of the season.
Boston Glory at Toronto Rush
Saturday, July 1 - 3:00 PM/ET - Watch link
Following this game, Boston and Toronto each close out the season with one easy game, one road game against the streaking Phoenix, and one road game against the elite Breeze. This means that the winner of this game will have a big leg up in the battle for the third seed in the East Division.
The Glory will be without their top three scorers, Simon Carapella, Orion Cable, and Tanner Halkyard. Boston’s top three scorers in 2022, Benjamin Sadok, Ray Tetreault, and Cole Davis-Brand, have all been much less productive offensively this year. If the Glory are going to win this game, at least two of them will need to rise to the occasion and put up several scores.
Toronto’s offense has improved in recent games, but not solely due to the efforts of top scorers Ty Barbieri and James Lewis. Players like flashy rookie Griffin McKee and D-liner Keith McRae, who was recently shifted to the O-line, have also contributed significantly. The Rush will be without Oscar Stonehouse and Wilkie Lewis, but players like McKee and McRae have proven that they’re capable of picking up the slack.
Boston would have been the favorite to win this game a few weeks ago. Because their offense is depleted and Toronto has elevated their level of play, the outcome of this game is now much more uncertain.
One Big Number:
47 - Sadok, Tetreault, and Davis-Brand have combined for just 47 goals this season, a far cry from their combined total of 154 goals last season.
22.33 - The Rush are averaging 22.33 goals per game in their last three games, a significant improvement from their average of 15.6 goals per game in their first five games this year.
Salt Lake Shred at San Diego Growlers | Game of the Week
Saturday, July 1 - 9:15 PM/ET - Watch link
San Diego will face off with Salt Lake for the first time since their first-round playoff loss to the Shred last year. If Salt Lake defeats LA on Friday night, they will only need to beat San Diego on Saturday to earn a first-round bye and home field advantage in the second round of the 2023 postseason.
With the postseason fast approaching, the Shred will want to continue executing one their biggest strengths: offensive unpredictability. Their ability to keep teams guessing, especially in the red zone, makes Salt Lake a threat to any playoff team this year. Salt Lake’s starting seven on offense has the highest average offensive efficiency of any AUDL O-line.
San Diego’s offense has been much less efficient, especially over their last few games. Their inability to produce in the fourth quarter is a major concern this week. The Shred defense has only allowed an average of three fourth quarter goals per game in their last four games.
Emerging rookie Max Gibson has been one of the few bright spots for the Growlers during their five-game skid, and he should have no problem racking up several scores in this game with Steven Milardovich out. San Diego also has a couple of schedule advantages. They are playing at home, where they tend to perform better. They also have a week of rest, while Salt Lake is coming off of a big game the night before against LA.
No matter the result, watching Travis Dunn step into the ring with Jordan Kerr is going to be entertaining.
One Big Number:
535.17 - Gibson is averaging the most yards per game of any rookie (535.17) this season.
94.18 - All eight of the Shred's main offensive starters have a completion rating above 94.18 percent. Salt Lake as a team rank second in the league with a team completion rate of 94.9 percent.
