The Breeze opened their season with a 28-17 victory over the Ottawa Outlaws yesterday at Gallaudet University. Fans came out in force on an unseasonably brisk but sunny day in the District to support the Breeze as they launched their 2016 season against an Ottawa team they beat twice last year by a combined total of only 5 points. This was clearly a stronger showing by a much improved Breeze squad that has hopes of returning to the playoffs after a 7-7 2015 campaign.
New faces led the charge, as Matthew “Rowan” McDonnell set the scoring pace with 4 goals while Alan Kolick and Nicky Spiva shared top honors with 4 assists each. Markham Shofner and Spiva also shared top honors in blocks alongside Chuck Cantone, Jon Pressimone and Markham Shofner, who all registered 2 in the game. Kolick and Spiva saw the most playing time at 26 points each, with Brett Matzuka (24) and Shofner (22) not far behind them.
It was a team effort: in all, 11 players tallied at least 11 completions, and 13 of the 20 active players had double-digit touches. Overall the team had 19 throwaways and a 93% passing percentage, a solid showing in an 8-12 mph wind.
Next Game: Breeze vs Toronto, April 23rd at 6:30pm at Gallaudet University in DC. This game will be broadcast live on ESPN3/WatchESPN as the AUDL Game of the Week. Please come out and support us as we take on the 3-time defending Eastern Division champions Toronto Rush!
See the full game live stream archive Here
All photos by Kevin Wolf
