May 5, 2023
The San Diego Growlers hosted the defending AUDL West Division Champion Colorado Summit on Friday, May 5 at Mira Mesa HS for their 2023 season opener.
San Diego started hot on defense when a sprinting Reggie Sung laid out for the block, then Max Hume dished to Jan Szmanda for the immediate break score. Colorado quickly equalized, then rattled off three breaks in a row after some uncharacteristic Growlers turnovers. After another miscue, Paul Lally came up with a huge block to negate a score but injured his knee on the play and would not return. San Diego eventually held when Trevor Purdy connected with Tyler Bacon. Both teams traded goals, then the Summit scored three straight to close the quarter up 8-3.
Colorado continued their 1st quarter momentum with a break after both teams added a few turnovers, but Max Hume responded with a great backhand huck to Stefan Samu, 9-4. The teams traded scores, then the Growlers found some life with two consecutive break scores to reduce the deficit to 10-7. The Summit held on offense and after a couple turnovers, Samu lofted the disc to Hume who went up big for the skying catch over his defender, 11-8.
The Summit scored two in a row to start the third quarter, but the Growlers bounced back with a Travis Dunn assist to Jordan Queckboerner. The two teams traded goals for the rest of the quarter, as Colorado extended its lead to 17-13.
The Growlers led off the final frame with another turnover which the Summit cashed in for the break, but Elliot Warner's lefty flick to Hume got the pack back on track. Colorado took firm control of the game with a hold then several breaks in a row to pull away for good. Dunn found Bacon for a nice score to stop the bleeding, but too little too late, as the Summit came out on top 23-16.
The Growlers were led by Max Hume with a +4 performance (2 assists, 2 goals), while Travis Dunn (4 assists, 2 goals, 3 turnovers) and Elliot Warner (3 assists, 1 goal, 1 block, 2 turnovers) each contributed +3 games. San Diego will need to recover quickly as they host the Portland Nitro on Saturday, May 13 at Mission Bay HS.
