Boston Glory falls to NY in ultimate Frisbee playoff at Hormel
The Boston Glory were Ultimate Frisbee Association champions in 2025. This year, they were eliminated by the Empire in their division final.
Medford – The Empire struck back, beating the defending champs with Frisbees in hand Saturday night at Hormel Stadium.
Matt LaBar sent Axel Agami in with what proved to be the game-breaking goal in the closing seconds, as the New York Empire edged the Boston Glory 24-21 in the Ultimate Frisbee Association’s Eastern Conference championship Saturday at Hormel Stadium.
It was another clutch win for New York (12-2), who handed Boston (11-2) its only regular season loss earlier this year.
“It feels great,” said New York coach Matthew Stevens. “We were up three early and kept telling our guys there’s no way they’re going to let us take this easily. That’s why they’re a championship-level team. They brought it for the next 36 minutes and did everything they possibly could to win this game.”
The defending UFA champs, Boston faced an uphill battle falling behind early in the first quarter 7-4. They were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. Despite battling tooth and nail, breaking even over the next three stanzas 7-7, 5-5 and 5-5, Boston was unable to complete its fourth-quarter comeback.
“Honestly, [New York] played a clean first half,” said Boston’s Tannor Johnson-Go. “It took us a little while to break through. I think our offense played a great game, but we had to crack them a little earlier to make sure we were really in it come the fourth. That was a major difference.”
The Empire wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Charlie Panarella threw a Hail Mary to LaBar, catching the flying disc in full stride on a 70-yard strike just 29 seconds in.
Boston’s Orion Cable quickly countered grabbing his first of a team-high five goals, knotting the contest at 1-1. The stalemate was short-lived. LaBar hooked up with Daan De Marrée on a nifty give-and-go putting New York ahead just seconds later. The Empire maintained a three-point lead for the remainder of the quarter holding a 7-4 cushion by the first intermission.
“We never relinquished that lead,” said Stevens. “We got up three in the first and [were even] over the last three quarters. Getting those couple of points early made the big difference and we were able to hang on.”
Boston’s Tobe Decraene was a cause for concern for New York defenders. The 23-year-old Belgian and 2025 MVP collected a game-high nine assists and posted a game-high +11 rating. The Glory’s Thomas Edmonds was also effective in the offensive zone with a game-best 45 completions and 27 points played.
Trailing 14-11 at halftime, the Glory left it all on the field with a strong second half effort. New York defenders rose to the challenge out-blocking Boston by a 12-3 margin.
Down 19-16 entering the fourth quarter, Boston went for broke cutting the deficit in the final minutes. Lander Decraene connected with Johnson-Go on a pivotal end zone catch. The Tufts product gave the Frisbee an authoritative spike, cutting the NY lead to 22-21 with 2:09 remaining.
That’s as close as they’d get, however. Agami killed any thoughts of a comeback grabbing the next two New York goals to put the game away.
“I felt like we were back on our heels the whole time,” said Boston’s Oscar Graff. “We struggled to motivate ourselves. It felt like our energy was low, and we let the doubt creep into our minds. It took too long for us to get back into it and get really fiery. We talked about finding that edge, finding that competitive element, but it was too little too late.”
It’s been an impressive run for the Glory since entering the UFA in 2021. Boston made their first playoff appearance in 2023. They capped a dream season last year, culminating with their first-ever UFA championship, beating the Minnesota Wind Chill in the finals in Madison, WI.
The team appeared well on their way to defending the title going 11-1 this season, despite enduring an injury-riddled campaign. Boston has been without four regulars, including two-time MVP Jeff Babbitt and Ryan Dinger, who finished second on the team in passing yards.
Ironically enough, Boston’s lone regular season loss came against the same Empire squad at Hormel Stadium on June 5. The Glory bounced back in the Big Apple a week later beating New York on June 12. But they were unable to take the rubber match.
This marked only the second time Boston and New York met in the postseason, with the Glory pulling out the dramatic overtime win in 2024.
Now a full-time Medford resident, Johnson-Go has enjoyed representing his hometown.
“It’s awesome,” said Johnson-Go. “I live less than a mile from Hormel. It’s great to come and see the community out here, with so many kids running around. We can hear the fans the whole time and it’s an absolute blast. They really bring the energy.”
A Tufts alum, Graff has enjoyed the team’s rise to prominence and the backing they have received.
“We can’t say enough about our support crew,” said Graff. “From our GM to all the personnel and everyone who makes this possible. Obviously, our fans are super supportive. To have them cheering and being super loud offering words of encouragement, we just couldn’t do it without them.”
“I wish we’d done better,” he added. “But we’ll get our chance next year.”
Johnson-Go agreed.
“We’ll come back even stronger,” said Johnson-Go. “Expect us to be better.”
