Photo by Gino Mattace
JULY 21, 2026
By Will Stuntz
The DC Breeze (9-3) wrapped up their regular season slate this weekend down in Atlanta, where they defeated the Atlanta Hustle (5-7) 24-22. Both offenses played pure, as breaks were hard to come by for both squads all game. DC and Atlanta were trading clean holds all game, but DC converting 63% (5-of-8) of their D-line chances, while Atlanta went 33% (2-of-6) made the difference in the final score.
With a plethora of absences for the Breeze, primarily on the D-line, the Breeze made some lineup decisions they hadn’t all year. Most notably, Coby Loveranes, who co-leads the Breeze in goals with 25, played the entire game on defense. Loveranes didn’t play his first defensive point of the season until the late minutes of DC’s last game against Philadelphia, but he played all 17 of his points on defense this week. Also, Brandon Lamberty made a line switch; after playing over 100 points on defense this season, he logged 21 points played on the O-line this week. The decision to move Lamberty proved to be a successful one by DC head coach Xavier Maxstadt, as the handler tossed three assists, hauled in four goals and completed every single one of his 16 throws. Aidan Downey also made his season debut this week, and after primarily playing for the O-line in 2025, he only went out with the D-line against Atlanta, picking up an assist along the way. Although these moves were most likely made because of the absences of players like Jacques Nissen, Christian Boxley, Micah Wagner, Tanner Gesell, Luke Rehfuss, and others, it will be interesting to see if these players stay put in the postseason due to their success this week.
Other than Lamberty, Miles Grovic and Jeff Wodatch were the heaviest hitters for the Breeze O-line. Both players surpassed 480 total yards with a 93% completion rate or higher. They both scored quite a bit, as well, with Grovic throwing six assists and catching two goals and Wodatch tossing three and catching two. Sean Mott picked up the pace, as well; after a few quiet performances in recent weeks, the 10-year Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) veteran threw three assists, brought down a goal, and completed all of his 37 throws.
For the Defense, Frederick Farah scored five goals on the evening, which was more than he has in four of his last five professional seasons. Farah was the receiver on four of DC’s five breaks, and his five goals were the most of anyone in the game on either team. He also managed to chalk up a block along the way. Wiebe van den Brink returned to the lineup after some time away in the Netherlands, and his return didn’t disappoint as he found two blocks on the night. Kevin Healey found a block, as did Josh Lightner, who made an incredible layout block in the end zone that, if caught – which it nearly was – would’ve been the Breeze’s first Callahan score of the year.
The game started with each team trading two holds apiece before Healey found a block on the fifth point of the match. Downey, in his first point of 2026, punched the break into Healey to take the lead at 3-2. The Hustle responded with a two-point swing of their own, as they held before Samuel Kilgore thwarted a huck attempt from Wodatch, leading to Atlanta’s first break, giving them the lead back at 4-3. Wodatch quickly redeemed himself with a 47-yard flick huck to Lamberty in the end zone to retie the game before Lightner made that outstanding block, and Marcus Lee sent a crossfield blade to Farah to retake the lead at 5-4. Two holds from Atlanta and one from DC led to the end of the first quarter with the game drawn at 6-6.
The second period saw no breaks from either team, and every single hold was clean, except for one. With 11 seconds to play, the game was tied at 11-11 with DC receiving the final pull. The Breeze made up most of the field in just three passes, and with less than two seconds remaining, Lamberty threw the disc upside down to Farah in the end zone. Farah dove for it, nearly dropping it, but managed to save the disc by catching it against his calf to give DC the one-score advantage at half.
The third period was a stalemate like the first with both teams notching six scores. Also like the first, the period started with two holds for each team, putting the score at 14-13. Once again, like the first period, DC broke the hold streak as van den Brink picked off an errant pass from Brett Hulsmeyer, and Billy O’Bryan made the easy flick to Farah to give DC their first multi-score cushion of the game. Atlanta held, but DC found another two-point swing, as AJ Merriman connected with Wodatch for a hold, and Lightner threw a 45-yard crossfield flick to Farah in the end zone to capitalize on an Atlanta throwaway, giving DC the 17-14 advantage. But Atlanta clawed their way back again, holding and then breaking thanks to a block from Max Lopez. A hold from each team later, DC’s lead was cut to one at 18-17 heading into the final stanza.
The one-score lead held through the first two points of the fourth, as each team recorded a hold. Then Grovic tossed a quick blade to Merriman to extend it to two, and Farah found his block before Marcus Lee sent the disc back to Farah in the end zone for a break, giving DC their three-score lead back. Atlanta gave everything they had, but the DC offense didn’t blunder the rest of the game, which led to the Breeze’s 24-22 victory.
And with that, the DC Breeze regular season is over, and they now have their sights set on the big one: the UFA Championship. The Breeze’s road to championship weekend begins this Saturday, July 25 in New Rochelle, NY with their first-round matchup against the New York Empire (10-2) at Joseph F. Fosina Field. Streaming live for free on YouTube and at watchUFA.tv. First pull flies at 2:00 p.m. ET.
