Old Glory DC hosted their final regular season home match at the Maryland SoccerPlex against Rugby Football Club Los Angeles, in a high-stakes rematch of their chaotic, card-filled, high-scoring clash. This time, the stakes were even higher—RFCLA fighting to stay in the playoff hunt, while OGDC chased the dream of securing home field advantage. The match lived up to its billing in drama, but not in outcome for DC, as RFCLA came out on top in a strange, stop-start affair marred by a major power outage that left the venue without power just before halftime.
But the on-field action had no shortage of electricity.
Old Glory roared out of the gates, scoring just three minutes in. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz powered over the line from five meters out after a bruising pick-and-go, dragging multiple defenders with him. The conversion missed wide, but DC led 5-0 early. RFCLA responded quickly—on his 50th MLR cap, Christian Dyer touched down in the corner, and the conversion gave LA a 7-5 lead by the ninth minute.
DC struck back in the 15th minute. Deep in LA territory, Jason Emery slung a looping pass wide to John Rizzo, who cruised in for a try. Emery nailed the conversion to make it 12-7. Thirteen minutes later, it was déjà vu—Emery again floated a pinpoint pass to the wing, this time to Axel Müller, who danced around one tackler to touch the ball down. OGDC extended the lead to 17-7.
Then, just after the restart, the scoreboard and speakers at the SoccerPlex sputtered and went out entirely in the 30th minute due to a local power outage, despite the skies having cleared from earlier storms. Still, the packed crowd didn’t miss a beat—feeding off the on-field intensity, they stayed loud and locked in.
Müller struck again, scoring his second try to put Old Glory up 22-7 as halftime neared. But just before the break, RFCLA struck back in stoppage time with a crucial converted try to narrow the margin to 22-14.
The second half shifted sharply. RFCLA came out energized and scored two converted tries in rapid succession in the 52nd and 55th minutes to take a 28-22 lead. The momentum had clearly flipped. Still, DC wouldn’t go away. The sides exchanged scores over the next 20 minutes, with DC staying within one point but unable to retake the lead. Every time OGDC looked set to break through, LA had an answer.
In the 78th minute, RFCLA broke through one more time to stretch the lead to 38-32.
Then came the wild finish.
DC regained possession after the restart and charged into LA’s 22 for one final attack. A loose pass bounced off a DC player and hit the deck—only for an RFCLA player to scoop it up and dash the length of the field for a heartbreaking try. Instead of potentially winning or salvaging two bonus points, OGDC was left with a stinging 43-32 defeat and just one point to show for it.
Despite the loss, Old Glory DC remains in contention for a home playoff match. They now travel west for their regular season finale against the San Diego Legion. A win—and a little help from around the league—could still secure them a coveted home playoff match.
Don’t miss the action—tune in at 10:00p.m. ET next Saturday as DC faces the defending Western Conference champs with everything on the line.
Written by Devin Smiley
