Heighton the hero as New York edges San Diego

A Jack Heighton penalty goal with time expired gave Rugby New York a 26-23 win over the San Diego Legion at JFK Stadium on Sunday. It was an otherwise even contest throughout, with the two sides braving cold and windy conditions to provide fans with an entertaining spectacle.

The Legion were on the front foot to start the game. Tevita Tameilau rumbled ahead and Hencus van Wyk made it over the line but was held up in-goal. From the restart Matías Freyre attempted an ill-conceived drop goal that the wind stopped well short of its target.

Instead it was New York who found the scoreboard first. Brendon O’Connor won a penalty at the breakdown and Heighton slotted the three-pointer. There was a near-instant reply, however, with Joe Pietersen equaling Heighton’s effort to bring it back to evens.

The two kickers exchanged penalties again after the hydration break. San Diego then pushed deep into New York territory and looked set to score, but a no-look pass from Tiaan Loots went to deck with Fa’asiu Fuatai snapping up the ball and sprinting the length of the field to score a try against the run of play. Heighton added the extras to make it 13-6 to the home side.

Ironically it was a bobbled ball from New York that led to San Diego’s first try. Freyre was the man to take advantage as he sliced through the line for the try, with Pietersen connecting with the extra two.

Multiple phases on attack yielded a second try for New York. Jason Emery combined with Fuatai to make ground, and then Andy Ellis popped to short pass to Kara Pryor with the flanker stretching out for the score. Again Heighton was on target as the home side pushed out to a 20-13 lead.

Pietersen missed a shot at goal and San Diego brought in the cavalry with four substitutes entering the match. They made an immediate impact and won another penalty. This time Pietersen made no mistake with the wind carrying his long range effort over the crossbar.

The two sides engaged in an prolonged aerial battle until Ellis chanced his arm. His chip kick only found Freyre, however, and the winger took off down the left sideline before freeing Loots. His over-the-head pass back inside found Ben Mitchell, who in turn flung an equally speculative pass that Freyre for a sensational counter-attack try. Pietersen’s conversion made it a three-point game with 20 minutes to play.

Heighton would draw the scores level and then New York pushed ahead looking for the winning score. A crunching hit from Freyre on Fuatai allowed Peter Malcolm to win a turnover and San Diego cleared their lines. A late hit by Nate Augspurger on Conor McManus allowed Heighton a chance to win it from just beyond the 40-meter line, and the flyhalf had ice in his veins as he coolly slotted the penalty with a roar emerging from the New York faithful.

Both teams play on the road next weekend. New York will have a short turnaround as they take on the Gold in New Orleans on Saturday. San Diego will have the full six days off before facing the defending champion Giltinis in Los Angeles on Sunday.

 

SCORING

NEW YORK 26
Tries – F. Fuatai (33′), K. Pryor (46′)
Cons – J. Heighton 2/2 (34′, 47′)
Pens – J. Heighton 4/4 (12′, 27′, 69′, 80′)

SAN DIEGO 23
Tries – M. Freyre 2 (42′, 58′)
Cons – J. Pietersen 2/2 (43′, 59′)
Pens – J. Pietersen 3/4 (14′, 29′, 54′)
DG – M. Freyre 0/1

 

TEAMS

RUGBY NEW YORK
1 Chance Wenglewski (17 Nic Mayhew 61′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Kaleb Geiger 65′), 3 Kalolo Tuiloma (18 Wilton Rebolo 47′), 4 Nate Brakeley (capt.), 5 Charlie Hewitt (20 Joe Basser 70′), 6 Will Tucker, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 8 Kara Pryor, 9 Andy Ellis (21 Conor McManus 60′), 10 Jack Heighton, 11 Ed Fidow (23 Quinn Ngawati 70′), 12 Jason Emery, 13 Fa’asiu Fuatai, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Troy Lockyear

Not used: 19 Jonathan Grzeszczyk, 22 John Powers

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Nathan Sylvia (17 Joe Walsh 52′), 2 Matt Moulds (16 Peter Malcolm 70′), 3 Hencus van Wyk (18 Chris Baumann 52′), 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Ben Grant (8 Tevita Tameilau 70′), 6 Dan Pryor (19 Chris Robshaw HT), 7 Michael Smith, 8 Tevita Tameilau (capt.) (20 Rohan O’Regan 61′), 9 Jason Higgins (21 Nate Augspurger 52′), 10 Will Hooley, 11 Matías Freyre, 12 Tiaan Loots, 13 Thomas Morani, 14 Kainoa Lloyd (23 Marcus Tupuola 52′), 15 Joe Pietersen

Not used: 22 Josh Thiel

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Lex Weiner (USA) & Miles McIvor (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon (USA)