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The San Diego Legion came away from the nation’s capital with a 26-10 bonus point victory over Old Glory on Saturday. DC failed to take advantage of a stiff wind at their backs in the first half, while the visitors made the most of their opportunities to take maximum points from their East Coast road trip.
Despite playing against the wind in the first half it was the Legion who took the initiative. A first assault on the line was turned away by a breakdown penalty won by Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz. San Diego regained possession, however, and another wave ended with James Vaifale crossing in the left corner.
Jason Robertson finally got the home side on the board with a penalty goal from beyond 40 meters, but it wouldn’t be long before the visitors were in for a second try. Tiaan Loots broke through the line from a scrum and Jed Holloway’s offload sent captain Brad Wilkin in give the Legion a 12-3 halftime lead.
The two sides then exchanged tries, both coming via strike moves off a scrum. San Diego were first, with Tomas Aoake angling back against the grain and wriggling through to reach the line. DC replied with Owen Sheehy coming infield and bouncing off the challenge of Ryan James to touch down under the posts.
With the wind now in their favor San Diego took advantage with Ethan Grayson firing the ball deep into DC territory. The ball was turned over at the tackle and Christian Poidevin wrapped around a ruck to score the bonus point try. Consecutive yellow cards to Shilo Klein and Djustice Sears-Duru for dangerous tackles were academic as the game stuttered to an anticlimactic conclusion.
Both teams will play home games next Saturday. Old Glory will square off against Anthem Carolina, while the Legion face local rivals RFC Los Angeles in the first leg of the Cali Cup.
| SCORING |
DC 10
Tries (1) – O. Sheehy (54′)
Cons (1) – No kick (54′)
Pens (1) – J. Robertson 1/1 (26′)
SAN DIEGO 26
Tries (4) – J. Vaifale (16′), B. Wilkin (32′), T. Aoake (45′), C. Poidevin (75′)
Cons (3) – L. McClutchie 3/4 (33′, 46′, 76′)
YC (2) – S. Klein (78′), D. Sears-Duru (79′)
| LINEUPS |
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Joe Wrafter 66′), 2 Facundo Gattas (16 KoiKoi Nelligan 50′), 3 Cali Martinez (18 Sam Davies 63′), 4 Rob Harley (capt.) (19 Bill Whiteside 76′), 5 Tevita Naqali, 6 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro (20 Collin Grosse 69′), 9 Ethan McVeigh (21 Connor Buckley 46′), 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Jason Emery, 13 Steff Hughes, 14 Perry Humphreys (23 Owen Sheehy 21′), 15 Damien Hoyland
Not used: 22 John Powers
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 53′), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Shilo Klein 8′), 3 Darcy Breen (18 Oliver Kane 66′), 4 Jed Holloway, 5 Brandon Harvey (19 Vili Helu 43′), 6 Paddy Ryan*, 7 Brad Wilkin (capt.), 8 Jimmy Hokafonu (20 Christian Poidevin 53′), 9 Richard Judd (21 Connor Tupai), 10 Lincoln McClutchie (23 Harris Rutherford 76′), 11 Ryan James, 12 Tiaan Loots, 13 Tomas Aoake (22 Cassh Maluia 76′), 14 James Vaifale, 15 Ethan Grayson
*6 Paddy Ryan was forced to leave the field due to uncontested scrums in the last minute of play
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 1
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown
Kickoff: 16:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 43°F (6°C), wind NW 24-36mph (38-58km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Amelia Luciano (USA)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
