PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Washington Valor were defeated, 67-51, by the defending-champion Philadelphia Soul Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center. Valor wide receiver Josh Reese set a career high with three receiving touchdowns while Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh threw five touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP.
Raudabaugh connected with wideout Darius Reynolds for a 20-yard touchdown for the first points of the game. The Valor responded quickly as quarterback Nick Davila found Reese to knot the score up at seven. The Soul scored consecutive touchdowns to take a 20-7 lead, but the Valor returned a blocked extra point attempt to shave the lead down to 20-9. Davila found wideout Rod Windsor for a score on the ensuing possession, setting the score at 20-16. After another Raudabaugh touchdown pass, Valor wide receiver Chris Duvalt returned the kickoff 56 yards for a touchdown. The Soul scored consecutive touchdowns to take a 41-23 lead. With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Davila notched his second rushing touchdown of the season. Soul kicker Adrian Trevino tacked on a field goal as time expired in the first half to give Philadelphia a 44-30 halftime lead.
The Soul forced the Valor into a safety on the opening kickoff of the second half, then added a touchdown on the following possession to take a 53-30 lead. Davila found Reese for an 11-yard pass to snap the Valor scoring drought and cut the Philadelphia lead to 53-37. Philadelphia and Washington traded touchdowns over the game’s remaining 20 minutes, including Reese’s third receiving touchdown of the game. Valor quarterback Warren Smith found Windsor with 1:45 left in the game to set the final score at 67-51, Philadelphia.
Valor quarterback Nick Davila (neck) left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return. More information will be provided following medical evaluation.
MVP: PHI QB Dan Raudabaugh – 17-22 passing, 207 yards and five touchdowns
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: PHI FB Adrian Ferns – 10 rushes, 55 yards and three touchdowns
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: PHI DB Torez Jones – two solo tackles
The Valor take on the Albany Empire next Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON VALOR
The AFL’s Washington Valor are owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which is one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country with one of the most diverse partnership groups in all of sports. The company also owns and operates the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go, the AFL’s Baltimore Brigade, NBA 2K League’s Wizards District Gaming, as well as Capital One Arena, the premier sports and entertainment venue in Washington, D.C. Monumental Sports & Entertainment is also co-owner of aXiomatic, which has controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid, and oversees the management of Kettler Capitals Iceplex–the training facility for the Washington Capitals–and the Eagle Bank arena at George Mason University.