By Charles Hamaker
Tukwila, WA – The Seattle Seawolves were able to vanquish the third in the West Houston SaberCats by a score of 43-36, but things were not all good for Seattle. Since the SaberCats scored four tries, and the margin of victory was less than eight, the Seawolves were eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight season. A strong early effort pushed Seattle ahead early, but Houston was able to get a win within a loss by eliminating Seattle from the postseason.
A solid start puts the Seawolves in good position
In front of their biggest crowd of the season, Seattle came out in the first 40 minutes looking to put on a show. The Seawolves scored two tries in a span of two minutes, in the 9th and 11th minutes. By the time the 40th minute whistle would be blow, the Seattle lead had been pushed to 29-7. The Seawolves had unlocked the bonus point for scoring four tries, something that they so desperately needed in order to keep their postseason aspirations alive.
Seattle holds on to win the game, but lose the postseason
The Seawolves lead heading into halftime was just the pace that they wanted, but there were still the 40 minutes left to be played before anything could be set in stone. Houston was able to get the second half started in their favor with a try just a minute in. It would be a game of respones shortly after, as Seattle scored a try in the 46th minute, and the SaberCats scored in the 56th. Seattle would be able to push their lead to 43-19 in the 70th minute, but Houston got tries in the 75th and 77th minutes to push them past four tries. They cut the final difference to seven, and with that Seattle had been eliminated from the 2022 MLR playoffs.
All things considered; I would deem this season a success for Seattle. The past two seasons for the Seawolves, following their back-to-back championships to begin their existence as a franchise, have been rough. The 2020 season that was cut short, Seattle started out with a win and four losses. The next year, in 2021, the Seawolves went 4-12. This 2022 campaign has seen some great play all around, just some adjustments and fixes that need to be made. There is a good group of rugby players in Tukwila, and they are primed to battle for the postseason again this upcoming season. I would bet that they will reach that mark in 2023.
Seattle’s final competition of the 2022 MLR regular season comes on June 5th, in Los Angeles against the Giltinis. The Seawolves battle the defending MLR Champions on the road, with a 3PM PST start time. Seattle looks to finish their season with a bang, and with a victory could throw a wrench in LA’s seeding plans. The Giltinis currently sit at first in the MLR Western Conference with 49 points, just one point above 2nd place Austin and 3rd place Houston.
Thank you to Skylar Randall for the photos used in this article! Thank you Skylar!
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