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Old Glory earned a bonus point victory at home over the Seawolves on Saturday, the final score reading 29-12. The scoreline may have been worse for Seattle, who spent much of the game pinned in their own end and were otherwise shut down by a resolute DC defense.
Rob Harley’s yellow card for a dangerous clearout opened the door for the Seawolves to open the scoring. The forwards made progress with a driving maul, and then Rodney Iona’s cross-kick found Toni Pulu in the corner for the try. Seattle’s sideline wasn’t on the ball, however, and Eddie Fouché was forced to attempt a drop-kick conversion which sailed wide of the uprights.
Once back at full strength the home side took the ascendancy. A set move from a lineout saw Axel Müller entering the line, followed by a deft offload from Collin Grosse that set Nick Grigg in for the finish. Two more opportunities went begging before halftime when Facundo Gattas was driven into touch and then Steff Hughes couldn’t connect with a wide-open Grosse to leave it 7-5.
Jason Robertson turned down an easy shot at the posts in favor of the corner and the gamble paid off. This time the industrious Grosse got his rewards with a try from short range. A left-footed grubber from Robertson was then grounded by John Rizzo, winning the battle for the ball against his opposite Jade Stighling. Robertson added one conversion but he would soon be forced off injured.
Iona was binned for a neck roll at a ruck, and before he returned DC had their bonus point try. Müller again came off his right wing looking for work and fed Owen Sheehy on his left for the finish. A try to Riekert Hattingh after his pack won a scrum against the head gave Seattle some hope to salvage a losing bonus point, but it evaporated when Jason Emery landed a penalty goal with three minutes to play.
It’s a road game for Old Glory next week, who take on the NOLA Gold on Saturday. The Seawolves have a week off to regroup before hosting the Chicago Hounds on Friday, April 18.
| SCORING |
DC 29
Tries (4) – N. Grigg (21′), C. Grosse (50′), J. Rizzo (53′), O. Sheehy (68′)
Cons (3) – J. Robertson 2/3 (22′, 51′), J. Emery 1/1 (69′)
Pens (1) – J. Emery 1/1 (77′)
YC (1) – R. Harley (9′)
SEATTLE 12
Tries (2) – T. Pulu (13′), R. Hattingh (72′)
Cons (1) – E. Fouché 1/2 (73′)
YC (1) – R. Iona (59′)
| LINEUPS |
OLD GLORY DC
1 Cali Martinez (17 Jack Iscaro 47′), 2 Facundo Gattas (16 KoiKoi Nelligan 48′), 3 Joe Rees (18 Sam Davies 39′), 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Bill Whiteside (19 Tevita Naqali 48′), 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel (20 Logan Weidner 70′), 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley (21 Ethan McVeigh 59′), 10 Jason Emery, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Steff Hughes (23 Tommaso Boni 70′), 14 John Rizzo, 15 Jason Robertson (22 Owen Sheehy 55′)
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr (17 Chance Wenglewski 59′), 2 Kerron van Vuuren (16 Dewald Kotze 59′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Mason Pedersen 35′), 4 Malembe Mpofu (19 Siaosi Mahoni 44′ {20 Devin Short 47′}), 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 OJ Noa, 7 Charles Elton, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Toni Pulu (23 Malacchi Esdale 51′), 12 Eddie Fouché, 13 Dan Kriel (21 Brock Gallagher 73′), 14 Jade Stighling (22 Lauina Futi 54′), 15 Divan Rossouw
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 5
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown
Kickoff: 17:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 73°F (23°C), wind E 6-9mph (10-14km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Aaron Davis (USA) & Matt Lake (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
