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The Seawolves made it three-from-three this season with a thrilling 31-28 victory over the Legion at the Sports Deck on Sunday. Seattle’s winning streak now totals five including the last two games of the 2021 campaign, while San Diego suffer their first regular season defeat of 2022.
It was Joe Pietersen who opened the scoring. The ageless flyhalf made something out of nothing, chipping over the defensive line and regathering to race away untouched. He converted his own try to make if a full seven points to the Legion.
The Seawolves waited patiently for their chance to respond. Lauina Futi beat three men in a phone booth and when the ball came out quickly Tavite Lopeti was there to take the ball on, spinning and reaching out to ground the ball over the line. AJ Alatimu’s conversion drew the scores level.
A score against the run of play went to San Diego. James Malcolm’s loose pass was picked off by Ryan Matyas. The winger scorched down the sideline and when Alatimu began to close, Nate Augspurger was there in support to finish off in the corner. Pietersen expertly curled the ball inside the right upright from a difficult angle.
There was just enough time before the half for Seattle to respond. Ben Landry crashed over the gainline on a set move from the lineout, and then the ball was swung right to Riekert Hattingh loitering on the touchline. The Seawolves captain blasted through Bjorn Basson and outpaced Augspurger to score from halfway. Alatimu added the extras and it was all square as the two sides headed into the sheds.
The Legion lost Matyas to injury at halftime, and then replacement Dom Iacovino was hurt early just three minutes into second half with Patrick Madden summoned from the bench. Meanwhile the Seawolves earned a kickable penalty that Alatimu landed to give the visitors their first lead of the match.
Seattle may have briefly regretted turning down another chance at three, but it was quickly forgotten when Lopeti struck for his second try. The US Eagles center blasted clean through the middle and took off on a 50-meter sprint under the posts to leave the Legion 10 points adrift.
Hencus van Wyk sparked an immediately reply. The tighthead prop made a half-break to put the Seawolves defense on the back foot. As the attack continued he appeared again, fixing the last defender and passing to his front row mate Matt Moulds for their own seven-pointer.
The highlight-reel scoring continued and it was Hattingh who would get his second of the match. Duncan Matthews bumped off one defender and passed two David Busby on his left, who in turn found the trailing captain for another runaway try. Kieran Joyce calmly knocked over the conversion.
Once again the pendulum swung when Augspurger spotted a gap and slipped through the line to touch down under the sticks. In the background Lopeti lay sprawled out on the pitch after taking a heavy knock while attempting a tackle. He was helped off with Reid Watkins taking up a spot on the wing.
With time ticking down Ma’a Nonu won a turnover and Ben Mitchell looked to have reached through a ruck to score, but the officials ruled he had dropped it in the process of grounding the ball. One last throw at the dice for the Legion came to nothing as Nonu dropped a risky lineout throw over the top, with Joyce hammering the ball off the pitch to end the game.
Both teams are back in action next Saturday. The Seawolves return home to take on the in-form Austin Gilgronis with both teams sporting 3-0 records. San Diego play their first road game of the season at AVEVA Stadium against the Houston SaberCats.
SCORING
SAN DIEGO 28
Tries – J. Pietersen (9′), N. Augspurger 2 (37′, 70′), M. Moulds (59′)
Cons – J. Pietersen 2/2 (10′, 38′), No kick 2 (59′, 70′)
SEATTLE 31
Tries – T. Lopeti 2 (27′, 57′), R. Hattingh 2 (40′, 61′)
Cons – A. Alatimu 2/2 (28′, 40′), No kick (57′), K. Joyce 1/1 (62′)
Pens – A. Alatimu 1/1 (48′)
TEAMS
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Nathan Sylvia (17 Paddy Ryan 70′), 2 Matt Moulds, 3 Hencus van Wyk (18 Chris Baumann 60′), 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Ben Grant, 6 Chris Turori (20 Derrick Broussard 60′), 7 Michael Smith, 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Nate Augspurger, 10 Joe Pietersen, 11 Bjorn Basson, 12 Ma’a Nonu (capt.), 13 Thomas Morani, 14 Ryan Matyas (23 Dom Iacovino HT {22 Patrick Madden 43′}), 15 Matías Freyre
Not used: 16 Chris Schade, 19 Jonah Dietenberger, 21 Nico Gilli
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola, 2 James Malcolm, 3 Tim Metcher (18 Taniela Tupou 79′), 4 Setefano Funaki (19 Victor Comptat 60′), 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry (20 Travis Larsen 65′), 7 Nakai Penny (20 Travis Larsen 5′-10′), 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu (22 Kieran Joyce 60′), 11 Lauina Futi (23 David Busby 57′), 12 Tavite Lopeti (21 Reid Watkins 70′), 13 Martin Iosefo, 14 Ross Neal, 15 Duncan Matthews
Not used: 16 Mike Brown, 17 Kellen Gordon
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Jacob Gonzalez (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
