Seawolves’ Seawall falters in 29-12 road loss to Old Glory DC
Seawolves’ away-game slump extends to seven
By Uriah Aguon, edited by Charles Hamaker
Germantown, MD - Defense is not always the best offense.
Our Seattle Seawolves suffered another tough loss, by a final score of 29-12, on the road against Old Glory DC on Saturday, April 5th at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Carrying over from the 2024 season, Seattle has now lost seven consecutive away games in a very worrying trend for the Seawolves.
Match recap:
Seattle’s forward pack gave a powerful opening performance, driving little by little into DC territory. Old Glory took possession of the ball in the third minute, picking it from a ruck before scrum-half JP Smith could send it out.
Attacking runs were traded back and forth for the next ten minutes, showing off the Seawall’s security and equally solid defense from Old Glory. Struggling to break through, the Seawolves relied on slow progress through rucks, handoffs, and mauls.
Moving slow and steady paid off in the 13th minute. Left wing Toni Pulu caught a short box kick from fly-half Rodney Iona just one meter shy of the try line. Already free of DC’s defenders, Pulu ran two steps into the try zone and dropped, securing a 5-0 lead for the Seawolves.
Continuing to battle for distance, Seattle kept possession post-contact by outnumbering and overpowering DC in the rucks. The momentum changed in the 18th when pressure from Old Glory forced a premature pass from fullback Divan Rossouw. Hoping to set up another run for Pulu, Rossouw threw the ball towards the sideline but instead sent it into touch.
Coming out of the lineout, DC’s left wing Axel Muller sent a squib kick onto Seattle's five-meter line. After Seattle recovered it. Inside center Eduard Fouché kicked the ball into touch around the halfway line.
Old Glory retook possession and scored shortly after in the 22nd minute, sending the ball down the line from another lineout earned. Quick passes kept the ball in motion and out of the Seawolves' hands. Three passes down the line, DC inside center Nick Grigg received the ball and pierced through the Seawall to score. Old Glory fullback Jason Robertson made the conversion, transferring the lead to DC, now at 7-5.
From then, the Seawolves were trapped inside their 22-meter line and spent the last few minutes of the half scrambling above the goal line. Holding Old Glory to a single try in the first half was a testament to the Seawall, having spent majority of the half defending inside their own territory.
The opening of the second half was reminiscent of the first — Old Glory and Seattle going back and forth over the halfway line. Seattle was soon pushed back, however, inside of its 22, resulting in another deep-territory battle.
Stalled just short of the try line, Old Glory deflected off the Seawall and onto the 22 twice before finding an opportunity from an offsides call on the Seawolves in the 48th, when loose head prop Cameron Orr snagged the ball from a DC maul.
Taking another lineout 19 meters from the try line, Old Glory gained short distance from a maul, then sent the ball down two rucks and landed just shy of the try zone. Blindside flanker Collin Grosse picked the ball out of the second ruck and scored in the 50th. DC led 14-5 with Robertson’s following conversion kick.
Soon after, the Seawolves lost hold of Old Glory again in the 52nd. Robertson sent the ball down the open side with a short kick, exposing a crack in Seattle’s defense. The ball was nearly recovered by Seawolves right wing Jade Stighling, but Old Glory right wing John Rizzo beat him to the punch. Rizzo got hands on the ball and shouldered it down as Stighling’s tackle rolled him into the try zone.
Matters worsened in the 59th after fly-half Rodney Iona received a yellow card for removing an Old Glory player from the ruck by the neck. The Seawolves stood strong for the next 10 minutes, despite being one player short, but DC still managed to break through in the 69th.
Failing to gain meters from a collapsed maul, Old Glory set the ball out back to center Owen Sheehy, who took a long run into Seattle's open side to score. DC fly-half Jason Emery made the conversion kick, giving Old Glory a 26-5 lead.
Seattle found a glimmer of hope via its captain and number eight Riekert Hattingh in the 73rd. The Seawolves dominated an Old Glory scrum, bringing the ball right to Hattingh's feet. Hattingh grabbed the ball and ran over DC's defenders into the try zone. Fouché brought the score to 26-12 with a converted kick.
Two tries away from a tie, Seattle at least had the opportunity to earn an extra table point from a third try. The Seawolves fought to re-enter DC territory but were pushed back yet again inside their 22.
Using a penalty in the 77th, Emery took a conversion kick and secured Old Glory’s victory. The match ended with DC scrum-half Ethan McVeigh running the ball into touch to end the final play.
What’s next?
The Seawolves’ next match is against the Chicago Hounds at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington, on Friday, April 18th, with a start time of 7:30PM PDT, with the theme of this game being “Kids Night.”
Chicago is 6-1 and ranked at the top of the MLR Eastern Conference with 27 table points.
Seattle is 2-5 and ranked fifth in the MLR Western Conference with 15 table points.
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Check out our previous Seattle Seawolves articles here.
Check out our previous articles written by Uriah Aguon here, and his SPU work here.
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