The Glendale Raptors lost a rare match at Infinity Park 53-36 to the Seattle Seawolves on Saturday, May 18. They did pick up a bonus point in the loss and remain in sixth place in the MLR standings with 43 points.
For the Raptors, It is their final home match of the season. Glendale will conclude the regular season away against the Toronto Arrows on May 26 and away against Houston on May 29. Their record is 7-5-2.
The Seawolves moved to 10-4 with the win and they are in 3rd place with 51 points, one point behind both the Legion and NOLA Gold. Seattle is at home for their final two matches against Utah on May 26 and Austin Elite Rugby on June 2.
Match Recap
The match was a scoring fest with the Seawolves holding a 27-24 lead at the break. The Seawolves proved to be a formidable opponent winning 53-36.
Glendale opened the scoring with a try by John Ryberg for a 7-0 lead. The Seawolves answered back with a try by Stephan Coetzee to cut the lead to 7-5.
The Seawolves added tries by Mat Turner and by George Barton to push the lead to 17-7. The Raptors answered back with a penalty goal by Petzer before Turner struck again for a 24-10 lead.
Brendan Daly received an offload from Ryberg for a try and Luke White received an offload from Ata Malifa for a try under the posts to level the match at 24 all after Petzer’s conversion.
Just prior to the break, Brock Staller slotted a penalty goal to take a 27-24 lead into halftime.
Second Half
The Seawolves opened with a try by Coetzee to extend their lead to 34-24 before Glendale answered back with a try by Dylan Taikato-Simpson to cut the lead to 34-31.
Seattle then exploded with two tries by JP Smith and another by Mat Turner to lead 53-31.
Glendale cut the lead after a Kody O’Neil try, but it was a little too late as the Seawolves won 53-36.
With the win, the Seawolves kept pace with lead leading San Diego Legion, who play later tonight against the Utah Warriors. The Legion is in first place with 52 points, NOLA Gold is in second with 52 points, and Seattle is in third with 51 points. The Toronto Arrows have a bye week and are in fourth place with 48 points. Rugby United New York plays Austin Elite Rugby and with a bonus point win could surpass the Arrows into fourth place. Glendale still is in contention for a playoff spot with 43 points.
Squads with Player Article Links & Preview
Glendale Raptors: 1 Noah Barker 2 Zach Fenoglio 3 Kelepi Fifita 4 Brendan Daly 5 Luke White 6 Malon Al-Jiboori 7 Peter Dahl 8 Murphy Taramai 9 Shaun Davies 10 Ata Malifa 11 Harley Davidson 12 Robbie Petzer 13 Chad London14 John Ryberg 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson 16 Chad Gough 17 Max Lum 18 Blake Rogers 19 Kody O’Neil 20 William Munro 21 Connor Cook 22 Will Magie 23 Mika Kruse + Head Coach David Williams
Seattle Seawolves: 1 Djustice Sears-Duru 2 Stephan Coetzee 3 Tim Metcher 4 Apisai Naikatini 5 Jérémy Lenaerts 6 Brad Tucker 7 Nakai Penny 8 Riekert Hattingh 9 JP Smith10 Ben Cima 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs 12 Shalom Suniula 13 George Barton 14 Brock Staller 15 Mat Turner 16 Dan Trierweiler17 Kellen Gordon 18 Jake Ilnicki 19 Samu Manoa 20 Eric Duechle 21 Phil Mack 22 Jeff Hassler 23 Dion Crowder + Head Coach Richie Walker
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