Tukwila, WA - The Seattle Seawolves would get their second win in as many games as Seattle would hold off the Utah Warriors late. The Seawolves were able to cling to a three point lead to win after nearly letting a 17-3 halftime advantage slip away. The Warriors used a strong second half to bring this game back to a close contest, but the Seawolves used their “Sea wall” to get one final stop.
Both halves would see Utah start off quickly, with different results in regard to how the half played out. The first half saw the Warriors take the ball right down to the try line, but Seattle would hold strong. Utah wouldn’t be able to muster more than a penalty kick that came 26 minutes into the opening half. In the second half, there would be a similar start. The Warriors would take the ball down to the try line, but this time their attack persisted heavily. The “Sea wall” would try and try, but Utah would bust through in the 69th minute. Another try would bring us the matchup within three, but the “Sea wall” was able to hold strong one final time.
Despite the second half on paper, the Seawolves played a solid defensive game. The main issues were allowing Utah to stay on the attack, and failing to get more than penalty kicks offensively. This was a game that probably should have seen more tries for Seattle, as the team missed out due to some untimely turnovers and a try attempt right at the halftime buzzer that would be denied. Seattle was mere inches from touching the ball down, but Utah was able to block it and the try would be called off after some discussion from the officials.
All things considered, this is a solid start to the season from the Seawolves. After the February 10th victory, they sit atop the Western conference standings and currently have the most points in all of Major League Rugby with eight. This is the first time in club history that Seattle has started out with two wins to begin the regular season, technically making it the “best start in team history,” for now.
The Seawolves do battle next on February 20th, on the road against the San Diego Legion with a 2PM PST start time. San Diego won their first contest of the season against Utah, by a two point margin.
Photos by the brilliant Emma Ottosen! Check out Emma!
Twitter: @emottosen
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