Seawolves loses Coffee Cup rematch, 37-30, to New England Free Jacks
One match remains in the regular season
By Uriah Aguon, edited by Charles Hamaker
Quincy, MA - It’s not a result the team wanted, but our Seattle Seawolves is still in a position to reach the postseason.
The Seawolves lost by a final score of 37-30 to the New England Free Jacks at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Sunday, June 1st.
Seattle's penultimate match of the regular season was a Coffee Cup rematch against its East Coast rival; however, unlike the 27-24 victory on March 8th, fortune favored the Free Jacks in this one.
Match recap:
Seattle was hands-on from the get-go, scrum-half JP Smith recovering fly-half Rodney Iona's kickoff as it reflected off the hands of New England’s openside flanker Jed Melvin. The ball traversed the field in phases, finding the hands of outside center Mika Kruse inside New England’s 22-meter line from fullback Divan Rossouw.
Kruse was taken down at the try line by New England loosehead prop Malakai Hala-Ngatai. From the ground, Kruse passed the ball to left wing Toni Pulu, who secured the try and gave Seattle a 5-0 lead.
The Seawolves immediately lost possession to the Free Jacks and were pushed back onto their 10-meter line, where the Seawall fended off a New England maul. Seattle recovered the ball and nearly scored again through Pulu in the eighth. Receiving a pass from inside center Dan Kriel at the openside touchline, Pulu bulldozed two Free Jacks before he was forced into touch.
The next few plays were rehashed from the teams’ earlier matchup, the backs trading box kicks and short runs for distance into the opponent’s territory.
Seattle officially re-entered New England territory in the 15th. Nick Boyer, subbed in for Smith, sent the ball out to eight-man Olajuwon Noa, to Iona, and then to right wing Lauina Futi at the blindside touchline. After Futi was pushed into touch, the play was reset due to Seattle playing with advantage for a New England player not rolling away during a ruck. This allowed Seattle to reset and kick for a lineout. From a little over 10 meters out, the Seawolves mauled toward the try line, dropping hooker Dewald Kotze to score another try. Iona sunk conversion kick, and the Seawolves were up 12-0.
All things were going great for the Seawolves in the first quarter of the match. The momentum shifted in the 25th minute when New England sewed the first seed of doubt into the Seawolves. Finding a window in the Seawall, inside center Le Roux Malan squib kicked the ball forward to Simon-Peter Toleafoa, who tapped the ball in from the touchline to outside center Ben LeSage.
The referees recalled the try after a TMO review found that Toleafoa stepped out of bounds, but this was only the beginning of the Free Jacks’ comeback.
What most allowed the Free Jacks to recover was a one-man advantage gained in the 27th. Lock Rhyno Herbst was red-carded in the 27th for a head contact tackle with a high degree of danger. New England scored twice immediately following Herbst’s absence. Inching toward the try line in pods, its forward pack pushed tighthead prop Jone Koroiduadua over the try line, 12-7.
The Seawall delayed New England’s second try until the 37th minute, forcing most of the Free Jacks’ plays into touch or back upfield. Eventually, New England was snubbed at the Seawolves’ try line and forced to send the ball far out to Malan, to fly-half Jayson Potroz, and then to left wing Paula Balekana on the edge of the openside touchline. Balekana tapped the ball down just seconds before Smith could reach him, leveling the score 12-12.
Seattle briefly regained the lead in the 40th. Blindside flanker Devin Short won a turnover for Seattle, which Iona used to call for a conversion kick. The Seawolves enter halftime ahead 15-12, but the Free Jacks were far from backing down, scoring early in the second half.
Forced across the field by the Seawall, the ball fell into the hands of Balekana once again, who dove into the corner of the try zone between Rossouw and Kriel in the 43rd.
The next 20 minutes belonged to New England. Dominating open-field play and surprising Seattle with short, quick handoffs. The Free Jacks extended their lead to 24-15 in the 48th. Malan dumped the ball far out to Toleafoa at the touchline, who slipped the ball to LeSage.
Seattle gained distance on every possession but was unable to capitalize on its presence in New England territory. Short, Noa, and lock Malembe Mpofu were key forwards of the match, protecting and successfully recovering the ball in rucks and stalling New England’s advances. However, the Seawall could only protect its try line so well before the team lost its steam in the final leg of the match. New England’s fullback, Brock Webster, caught Smith's box kick and squibbed it toward Seattle’s try line. Rossouw tried to recover the ball, but scrum-half Cam Nordli-Kelemeti log rolled the ball into the try zone in the 59th.
For all of New England’s efforts, it did not escape the fierce grit of the Seawolves. Seattle found its second wind in the 66th, when Rossouw kicked for a lineout on New England’s 22-meter line. Working in phases from Rossouw to Boyer to loosehead prop Dewald Donald, subbed in for Cam Orr, the Seawolves cut the difference to nine with a converted try by Donald and Eduard Fouché, subbed in for Pulu.
New England again snubbed Seattle’s hopes of closing the gap in the 68th, extending its lead 34-22 with a penalty conversion kick. On top of Seattle’s 22, New England nearly lost possession, but the turnover was negated due to issues in the ruck, giving the Free Jacks an opportunity for extra points.
Seattle gained a one-man advantage for the final stretch of the match. Inside New England territory, Boyer passed the ball to Rossouw, who box kicked to Futi. Futi made a clean run past New England’s 22-meter line before he was tackled by flanker Jeronimo Gomez-Vara. Gomez-Vara was yellow-carded immediately after in the 72nd minute for persistent infringements and foul play against Kriel, who tackled Gomez-Vara out of the ruck. The Free Jacks were penalized again shortly after Seattle passed their 10-meter line for not releasing in the ruck. Rossouw gave Seattle another lineout, which it used to maul Kotze into the try zone.
The Seawolves were behind just one converted try with six minutes remaining. Seattle would leave the game with two table points after it traded penalty conversion kicks with New England in the closing minutes. Webster kicked in the 78th for Mpofu being offside, and Fouché kicked in the 80th for a scrum penalty. The final whistle was blown after the flags waved to confirm Seattle’s final three points.
What's next?
Seattle's final match of the season is against the Miami Sharks on June 8th at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington.
The Sharks are fourth in the Eastern Conference 8-0-7 with 41 table points. Miami visits the Seawolves after a 36-32 win against the San Diego Legion on May 30.
The Seawolves are fourth in the Western Conference 7-1-7 with 44 points. Ahead of San Diego by one point, the Seawolves need a win against Miami (ideally, including another fourth-try bonus point) to hold their fourth-seed slot for the postseason.
June 8th is the Seawolves’ first and only match against the Sharks for the 2025 season. At their best, the Sharks are a first-half team, building whatever momentum they can in the first half and fighting with resilience in the second to hold the line. In contrast, Seattle has proved itself as a powerful second-half team. The Seawolves’ best shot is to capitalize on all opportunities from kickoff and find their momentum before Miami can.
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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.
Cover photo and photos in this article by KBRPhotog provided by the Seattle Seawolves.
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