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San Diego made it four wins in a row with a nail-biting 22-21 result over Miami on Sunday. The Sharks ran out to a big lead by early in the second half but a late surge by the Legion saw the 2023 Finalists stealing a hard-won victory from the jaws of defeat.
It was a stalemate early as the two sides wrestled for superiority in the middle of the pitch. Felipe Etcheverry broke the deadlock with a penalty goal from 40 meters. Ill discipline from Hugh Roach gave the Uruguayan another opportunity from long range but this time the flags stayed down.
A high ball from Lincoln McClutchie put the Sharks under pressure and Vili Helu won the aerial contest. Roach was there to regather and the hooker redeemed his indiscretion with a runaway try to give the visitors a 5-3 lead with 15 minutes up on the clock.
Miami took a more tactical approach with the boot, with Etcheverry keeping San Diego pinned in their own end. The suffocating Sharks defense earned a second penalty goal for their No10 and then a third, with Etcheverry pushing his team out to a four-point lead.
Another prodigious punt from Etcheverry stuck the Legion back on their heels and they made a hash of the lineout to give away possession. Roach was then spotted stamping on a Miami ankle by the TMO and the referee dispatched him to the bin. Etcheverry lined up another shot at the sticks but again his strike was wide of its target.
Finally a score came for the Sharks after Tomás Inciarte darted from the edge of a ruck. Nick Grigg’s inside line pulled the defense out of sorts and Etcheverry was on hand to take the offload in under the sticks for seven points. McClutchie had a chance to claw back three before halftime but his kick sailed wide left.
The second half started similarly to the first, with several minutes passing before a score finally came. A counter-ruck from Miami knocked the ball free and Sean McNulty toed it ahead. Marcel Brache couldn’t quite corral the awkward bounce and it was McNulty on hand to regather and pass to a trailing Inciarte for the try. The conversion attempt from Etcheverry failed, and then a penalty kick from straight in front of the posts went begging.
Connor Tupai entered the game and added urgency to San Diego’s attack. His quick tap at the hour mark created space for Tiaan Loots to break free. The end result was a try for Ethan Grayson, who swerved wide before cutting back inside to score under the posts.
McClutchie found a solution for the rush defense with a well-weighted chip over the line. Brache was there to regather, and quick hands from Cyrille Cama and Alex Horan sent Tupai away for a try. The conversion closed the gap to just two points with 15 minutes to play.
It was a penalty goal that did the trick, with McClutchie this time having no trouble splitting the uprights to move the Legion ahead. The Legion were too slow rolling from a maul and Etcheverry pointed to the sticks, despite the mark being at the 42-meter mark and on an unsympathetic angle. Etcheverry put all his weight into the effort but it wasn’t a clean strike and the ball sailed well wide of the posts, with time running out before the Sharks would get another scoring chance.
The Legion return home from their East Coast swing with two victories and have earned a week’s rest before returning to action on Sunday, April 14th, against NOLA Gold at Snapdragon Stadium. Miami are straight back into the fire against the defending champion New England Free Jacks at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
| SCORING |
MIAMI 21
Tries (2) – F. Etcheverry (35′), T. Inciarte (50′)
Cons (1) – No kick (35′), F. Etcheverry 0/1
Pens (3) – F. Etcheverry 3/7 (10′, 18′, 22′)
SAN DIEGO 22
Tries (3) – H. Roach (14′), E. Grayson (60′), C. Tupai (64′)
Cons (2) – L. McClutchie 1/2 (65′), No kick (60′)
Pens (1) – L. McClutchie 1/2 (72′)
YC (1) – H. Roach (30′)
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Jonas Petrakopoulos (17 Rob Evans 44′), 2 Kirby Myhill (16 Sean McNulty 44′), 3 Alec McDonnell (18 Tevita Sole 55′), 4 Rick Rose (19 David Beach 78′), 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Roelof Smit (22 Josh McAdam 65′), 7 Dan Pryor (capt.) (20 Chase Schor-Haskin 75′), 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 Tomás Inciarte, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Marcos Young, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Guiseppe du Toit, 14 Santiago Videla (23 Avery Oitomen 65′), 15 Matías Freyre
Not used: 21 Nicolás Elewaut
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Payton Telea-Ilalio 51′), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Chris Mickelson 70′), 3 Darcy Breen, 4 Charlie Hewitt (19 Chris Turori 57′), 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Vili Helu, 7 Finn Kearns (16 Chris Mickelson 32′-40′) (21 Cyrille Cama 51′), 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Nick Boyer (22 Connor Tupai 51′), 10 Lincoln McClutchie, 11 Ryan James, 12 Tiaan Loots (23 Alex Horan 62′), 13 Ethan Grayson, 14 Mikey Te’o, 15 Marcel Brache (capt.)
Not used: 18 Oliver Kane, 20 Jay Tuivaiti
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, March 31
Venue: AutoNation Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 18:00 local
Weather: sunny, 77°F (25°C), wind SE 11-16mph (18-26km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Jarrod Ford (USA) & Tom Ciampa (USA)
TMO: Scott Green (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
