Aviators Beat Growlers to Make Playoffs

On a warm Saturday evening in Los Angeles with a picturesque sunset and a stadium full of passionate fans, the stage was set for the West Division Playoffs on Saturday July 21st.

Aviators Sunset
Aviators huddle at sunset during Playoff match versus San Diego Growlers. Photo by Meg Hofner

The Aviators held the lead start-to-finish to defeat the San Diego Growlers 26-22 and to become the 1st team this season to qualify for 2018 AUDL Championship Weekend. The next game will be against the Madison Radicals Saturday August 11th at 5pm PST / 7pm CST. The game can be viewed live on the Stadium channel which is available at www.watchstadium.com or via your smart phone/tablet Stadium Application. It is also on Apple TV, Roku, Slingbox, Twitter Live, and for free on your local HDTV in most cities! Go to https://watchstadium.com/where-to-watch/

When you look at the overall game stats, you can see clearly that the Aviators and Growlers measurable difference in the game came down to mistakes made by the offense units. The Aviators offensive productivity was 84% compared to Growlers' 69% with only 11 total Aviator turnovers compared to 17 by the Growlers. Travis Dunn and Steven Milardovich were a dynamic duo for the Growlers, seemingly able to orchestrate the team's offense while still being in the mix on their defensive squads. Hats off to incredible athletes and a fantastic Growler organization for giving us a challenge even up until the last 5 minutes when a catch by Mark Elbogen on a high stall throw by Tyler Bacon kept the Aviators in possession to maintain a 3-point lead. Had that disc been intercepted (which it nearly was), and converted to a defensive break... Well let's just say that if San Diego was within 1 point with mere minutes left in the game, it would have risen the collective blood pressures all around. 

Team Playoff Stats

Offensive Line Production, 7 on the line:

  1. Mazur: 6 assists, 2 goals, 1 Block, 33-for-34 on throws for a +7 overall
  2. Cohen:  4 assists, 3 goals, 29-for-30 on throws for a +6 overall
  3. McDougall: 4 assists, 3 goals, 23-for-24 on throws for a +5 overall (1 dropped pass)
  4. Elbogen: 1 assist, 5 goals, 27-for-27 on throws for a +6 overall.
  5. George: 1 assist, 4 goals, 13-for-13 on throws for a +5 overall
  6. Lai: 1 assist, 1 goal, 38-for-38 on throws for a +2 overall
  7. Beatty: 2 assists, 0 goals, 37-for-38 on throws for a +1 overall
Aviators Cohen Tosses Flick
Jesse Cohen pivots to throw a forehand while marked by a Growler defender. Picture by Meg Hofner

Defensive Stat Production:

  • Theodore: 4 Blocks, 2 Goals, +6 overall
  • Silverman: 1 Block, 2 Goals, +2 overall
  • Theologidy: 2 Blocks, 1 Assist, +2 overall 

You can view more complete stats at Ultianalytics page here

And the highlight Video from the game can be viewed here