Old Glory DC dropped their third consecutive match as the Western Conference-leading Houston SaberCats rode a dominant first half to a 48-27 victory on Saturday night.
For the second consecutive match, OGDC gained an immediate lead in the first two minutes. A Jason Emery penalty goal in the first minute gave the center the first of his 12 points. After Houston fly half AJ Alatimu equalized with a penalty goal of his own, OGDC’s Martin Vaca utilized a quick tap and went low on his defender to notch the match’s first try. Emery added the conversion to put the visitors up 10-3.
It would be OGDC’s final lead. Eight minutes later, Houston responded as Alatimu placed a perfectly-weighted kick for Tautalatasi Tasi, who raced past the DC backs to fall on the ball first and secure the try. Alatimu’s conversion once again knotted the match, this time at 10 apiece.
That began the decisive first-half run of 24 unanswered Houston points. The SaberCats took their first lead on captain Nathan Den Hoedt’s try in the 21st minute. Only five minutes later, the lock would find the try zone again and double his team’s advantage, utilizing a friendly Houston bounce for a diving grounding. Alatimu’s conversions, four of his match-high 17 points, made it 24-10. A 32nd minute penalty goal added to Houston’s advantage, and the SaberCats led 27-10 at the interval.
On a night that saw temperatures in the 80s, Houston wore down the visitors over the 80 minutes. The SaberCats led the territory battle throughout the night, and carried the ball over 100 meters more than Old Glory.
Despite the halftime deficit, OGDC continued to battle back. A strong passage of play led by a John Rizzo run led to a penalty goal, which Emery scored to cut the deficit to 27-13.
Only eight minutes after the visitors got closer, Jeremy Misailegalu intercepted an OGDC pass attempt and started a rapid SaberCat attack, nearly going try zone-to-try zone before offloading to Alatimu for a try and a 19-point edge with 25 minutes to play.
Lautaro Bavaro’s deft footwork off a scrum got Old Glory closer yet again, and Emery’s conversion narrowed the DC side’s deficit to 32-20. Immediately off the kickoff, though, the Old Glory momentum was stymied again. Alatimu’s kick allowed Dominic Akina to show off his pace for just his third try of the season.
With just over 10 minutes left, Houston tacked on a penalty goal, and former 2nd-overall MLR Draft selection Max Schumacher finished off a Houston set piece to grow the lead to 25 points.
A consolation try in the final four minutes from former SaberCat Jamason Fa’Anana-Schultz cut the deficit, but Old Glory came up one try short of a bonus point in the Eastern Conference race. The match’s final moment, a Houston penalty goal, gave the SaberCats their largest point total of the season.
Old Glory will look to battle back next Sunday vs. Utah at 2:00 ET at MD SoccerPlex.
