The Nighthawks led an improbable comeback in the third quarter, turning the blowout into an exciting game. The 9-point halftime score proved too much, although the Current had to work to stave off the West Coast champs.
The Philadelphia Spinners hosted the conference champion DC Current for what was essentially a play-in game to the playoffs. With the Boston Whitecaps winning earlier in the day, the Spinners needed a victory to force a rematch the following week at DC.
The Spinners kept this game close until midway through the third quarter, where DC pulled away with some unforced and forced Philly turnovers. There was plenty of action, layouts on offense and defense, and some fun mixed in there too.
After tight defense and the MLU’s first Callahan score (intercepting an opponent’s pass in their end zone) by #21 Michael Panna, the Spinners were down 1 point with less than a minute to go. The Current, bending but not breaking, tacked on a meaningless score as time expired to win the game 25-23.
The two top-ranked teams in the Eastern conference met for the first time, with the DC Current pulling out the win over the previously-undefeated Boston Whitecaps. Last year, Boston went 11-0 in taking the MLU Championship.
Alan Kolick, one of the Current’s stars, knocked down a Spinners pass and converted the score to go up two points with a minute remaining. DC added a last-second goal to win by 3, 21-18.