MLR WEEK 11 WRAP-UP

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES 48 – 36 UTAH WARRIORS

The Seattle Seawolves made the most out of their first-ever trip to Utah when they defeated the Warriors 48-36 on Friday night.

After an uncharacteristic loss at home to the San Diego Legion just a week earlier, the Seawolves (6-3) traded blows with the Warriors (1-6-1) and went into the half with a 22-17 lead. It wasn’t until early in the second half that the Seawolves really opened the flood gates. They exploded for three tries within the first 20 minutes of the second half and tacked on one more in the match’s final minutes.

Seawolves’ wing Brock Staller, Major League Rugby’s leading scorer, led all scorers in the match with 18 points by way of a try, five conversions and a penalty goal. Seattle second-rower Brad Tucker picked up two tries in the match while Utah’s inside center Timothy O’Malley led his side in scoring with 16 points.

The Seawolves picked up five points in the victory but slid into fourth place with 32 total points on the season. Utah picked up the four-try bonus point in the loss and sit in eighth place with 10 points in the league table.

Utah will look to get back on track on Saturday, April 13 when they travel down to the Crescent City to take on the first place NOLA Gold (7-2) while the Seawolves will look to continue their win streak on the road on Saturday, April 13 against the Houston SaberCats (2-6) in the first-ever match at Aveva Stadium.

HOUSTON SABERCATS 44 – 52 GLENDALE RAPTORS

The Glendale Raptors battled back from a 32-point first half deficit to defeat the Houston SaberCats 52-44 on Saturday night at Infinity Park.

Despite jumping out to a 32-0 lead in the first half, the most points that Houston (2-6) had scored in a match this season, the SaberCats weren’t able to hold off a resilient Glendale (5-3-2) side that picked up their second-straight win on Saturday night.

The Raptors didn’t score a point until the 35th minute, but then rattled off four tries in a span of nine minutes broken in half by the halftime break. The three tires that Glendale wing John Ryberg scored on Saturday night gives him nine on the season and makes him Major League Rugby’s leading try-scorer through 11 weeks. Ryberg and Houston fly-half Sam Windsor led the scoring with 15 points each. Windsor scored a try, hit two conversions and two penalty goals.

Glendale picked up five points in the victory to move into second place in the league table with 33 points. They trail the league-leading NOLA Gold (7-2) by five points. Houston picked up the four-try bonus point in the loss and remain in seventh place with 11 points.

Houston will look to get back in the win column on Saturday, April 13 when they welcome NOLA Gold to town in the first-ever match at Aveva Stadium while the Glendale Raptors will enjoy a week off.

NOLA GOLD 35 – 31 TORONTO ARROWS

The NOLA Gold used a pick-and-go try in the match’s final minutes to defeat the Toronto Arrows 35-31 on their home turf on Sunday afternoon.

The Gold (7-2) used 15 points from their captain and full-back JP Eloff, who scored a try and nailed all five of the NOLA’s conversions, to overcome a late four-point deficit to defeat the Arrows (4-5). Toronto full-back Gaston Mieres lead his team in scoring with two tries.

The five points that the Gold picked up on Sunday afternoon gives them 38 points on the season and gave them a five-point buffer between the Glendale Raptors who currently sit in second place with 33 points. The Arrows picked up two bonus points in the loss and remain in sixth place with 24 points.

The Gold will welcome the Utah Warriors (1-6-1) to town on Saturday, April 13 while the Toronto Arrows will host Austin Elite Rugby (0-10) on Sunday, April 14.

Austin Elite Rugby 15 – 45 San Diego Legion

Read more about the San Diego Legion’s win over Austin Elite Rugby here.