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Celebrations were muted after Saturday’s Maryland SoccerPlex opener as DC and Chicago scrapped to a 22-all draw. Conall Boomer and Axel Muller notched two tries each for their respective sides, while Old Glory are left to wonder what further punishment might come to Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz after their skipper was sent off in the first half following an unfortunate aerial collision.
An early long-range penalty attempt proved too ambitious for Jason Robertson. The two sides clattered into each other and players from each side felt the affects. Tommaso Boni went off for an HIA, and a minute later Luke White needed repairs to a gash on his hand. Both would eventually return but not before each side opened their scoring accounts.
First to strike successfully was Adriaan Carelse with a conventional three-pointer. DC fought back and moved into scoring position, earning a penalty just a few meters from the line. They opted for a set play and a deceptive change of positioning just before the tap confused the Chicago defense enough for Martín Vaca to crash over for the try.
Another odd-looking try followed, this time for the Hounds. Roberton’s high ball was tapped back by a DC player but straight into the hands of Maclean Jones. He needed only to fix the defender ahead of him and free Conall Boomer for a straight run to the line.
The home side conjured a reply through Axel Müller, the Argentine winger celebrating his Major League Rugby debut in style. Fa’anana-Schultz put Damien Hoyland in space at halfway and when the Scotsman was stopped short, Muller timed his run to perfection to take a short pass from the ruck and burst clean through for DC’s own seven-pointer.
Calamity then stuck Old Glory on the end of a bouncing ball. Fa’anana-Schultz opted not to contest in the air and when Billy Meakes leaped forwards, he toppled over the DC captain’s shoulder and landed head-first. While the replay showed Fa’anana-Schultz had tried to break Meakes’ fall by grasping his legs, the officials deemed his actions reckless and a red card came from the referee’s pocket.
The Hounds sensed an opportunity and poured on the pressure. Mason Flesch appeared to score, and indeed a conversion was kicked, but the TMO intervened and called the play back for an extra movement in the act of scoring. Robertson tried a snap drop-goal to no avail just ahead of the intermission but it was off-target and the score stayed 14-10 to DC after 40 minutes.
When play resumed it was the visitors who came out strongest. A multi-phased attack yielded a penalty, and Carelse kicked to the corner. Again the Hounds pressed through their pack and simply blasted forward until Boomer managed to squeeze over from short range for his double to give Chicago the lead.
Robertson responded with a penalty goal to level the scores, and then the flyhalf picked out Muller with a perfectly-weighted cross-kick for a try. The conversion rang off the uprights and Old Glory were ahead, but not for long. Chicago came roaring straight back and Nate Augspurger, stepping in at scrumhalf, fired a cutout pass to Zura Zhvania and the Georgian prop went over the line uncontested.
The final minutes of the match were not without drama. A loose pass went straight into the hands of Dylan Fawsitt, but Robertson came flying across the pitch to cut the Chicago hooker down and force a knock-on to save what looked a certain try.
DC regained possession and a Tommaso Boni charge put them in behind the defense. Robertson’s drop-goal attempt was charged down but he would get a second shot at the posts off the tee. The radar was off, however, and the kick drifted to the left of the posts. Paddy Ryan was shown yellow for a high shot on Rob Harley but nothing would come from it and the game ended with both sides visibly frustrated.
Old Glory will stay at home next Saturday when the San Diego Legion travel from coast to coast. Chicago have an extra day to prepare for their Eastern Conference clash at home against the New England Free Jacks on Sunday.
| SCORING |
DC 22
Tries (3) – M. Vaca (17′), A. Müller 2 (26′, 51′)
Cons (2) – J. Robertson 1/2 (18′), No kick (26′)
Pens (1) – J. Robertson 1/3 (48′)
DG (0) – J. Robertson 0/1
RC (1) – J. Fa’anana-Schultz (28′)
CHICAGO 22
Tries (3) – C. Boomer 2 (24′, 44′), Z. Zhvania (56′)
Cons (2) – No kick (24′), A. Carelse 1/2 (45′)
Pens (1) – A. Carelse 1/1 (13′)
YC (1) – P. Ryan (74′)
| LINEUPS |
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Joe Wrafter 73′), 2 Martín Vaca (16 KoiKoi Nelligan 59′), 3 Tyler Rowland (18 Cali Martinez 45′), 4 Rob Harley, 5 Ignacio Dotti, 6 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (capt.) (20 Collin Grosse 48′), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Ethan McVeigh (21 Connor Buckley 66′), 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Perry Humphreys (22 Gradyn Bowd 34′), 12 Tommaso Boni (23 William Talataina 9′-21′), 13 John Powers (23 William Talataina 50′), 14 Axel Müller, 15 Damien Hoyland
Not used: 19 Bill Whiteside
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Fred Apulu (17 Zura Zhvania 45′), 2 Guillermo Pujadas (16 Dylan Fawsitt 45′), 3 Ignacio Péculo (18 Paddy Ryan 65′), 4 Mason Flesch, 5 James Scott (19 Brad Tucker 62′), 6 Conall Boomer, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Luke White (20 Tinashe Muchena 10′-21′, 57′), 9 Nick McCarthy (21 Jason Higgins 71′), 10 Billy Meakes (capt.), 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Bryce Campbell (3 Ignacio Péculo 75′), 13 Cassh Maluia (22 Caolan Dooley 64′), 14 Dave Kearney (23 Noah Brown 68′), 15 Adriaan Carelse
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 16
Venue: Maryland Soccerplex, Germantown
Kickoff: 16:00 local
Weather: sunny, 62°F (17°C), wind SW 5-10mph (8-16km/h)
Attendance: 2,500
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Peter Pender (Canada) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
