By Evan Lappen

In front of an electric crowd of 3,500 fans, the battle between Old Glory DC and the Utah Warriors came down to the last possession. The Warriors emerged as 34-33 victors on Saturday night at Zion Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. Both teams fought for the entire 80 minutes and then some, but Utah ultimately outlasted DC. On the final play, Mika Kruse scored the decisive try, and Hagen Schulte slotted the game-winning conversion.

The DC faithful should be proud of its team’s valiant effort and never say die attitude. While disappointed with the defeat, Old Glory picked up two valuable bonus points in the standings. DC returns home this week for a Sunday contest at Segra Field against the Seattle Seawolves.

Every game in the MLR on Saturday was decided by a try or less, so it was destined that DC’s game would follow suit. It was a clash between OG’s patient phase play offense against the quick-strike attack from Utah. Renata Roberts-Te Nana, Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, Jason Robertson, and Steven Longwell had stellar games, and Doug Fraser, Luke Campbell, and Dylan Taikato-Simpson impressed in their returns to the club.

Both squads came out hard to set the tone. Following an exchange of kicks for field position, DC’s sustained phase play was crucial early in the match. A “not rolling away” penalty gave Old Glory the first shot at points, and Jason Robertson was good for the 3-0 lead.

DC held possession for the first nine minutes of the game before Utah had its first ball past midfield. Whipping the ball out to the wing, Angus MacLellan stumbled through the line and hooked up with Jurie van Vuuren and Aston Fortuin. OG was called offsides, and Schulte evened the score at 3-3 with the penalty.

Old Glory resumed its focused phase play offense, and the forwards punched it inside. Taikato-Simpson attempted to pass the ball to Callum Gibbins, but Josh Whippy stepped in front for the interception. The Utah wing took off, and Robertson couldn’t catch him on the 50-meter try. Schulte made the conversion, and Utah led 10-3 after 13 minutes.

Back on offense, the DC forwards did the dirty work, sucking in the defense. With the backline set, Thretton Palamo skipped the ball to Roberts-Te Nana who raced to the goal line. The Kiwi wing offloaded to Fraser for the Happy Birthday try. Robertson was wide, and DC trailed by two points.

Off the restart, a penalty from Utah gave DC a good field position. Utah committed another infraction, and, playing with advantage, Robertson connected on a cheeky drop goal. With 19 minutes gone, DC took the lead at 11-10.

Unfortunately for Old Glory, Mungo Mason grabbed his shoulder after an awkward hit and was replaced by Luke Campbell. Utah picked up the pace, and a DC penalty saw the Warriors with a lineout inside the 22. OG was called for a high tackle, and Lance Williams picked it from the back of the scrum. The Warriors’ pack was too strong, and Fortuin scored the try. Schulte split the uprights for the 17-11 score after 30 minutes.

Following the restart, Robertson’s kick ahead bounced into touch. DC challenged the lineout, and Mikey Sosene-Feagai grabbed the rebound. Palamo dummied the defense, and after a pass to DTS, Sosene-Feagai barreled danger close to the whitewash. From the ruck, Danny Tusitala pitched it to the freight train known as Fa’anana-Schultz for the try. Robertson converted, and DC held the 18-17 lead at the half.

The second half began with a battle for field position. Following a lineout, Robertson picked off Utah’s pass, but Calvin Whiting made a try-saving tackle before DC could score. After a call for a not-straight lineout, DC dialed up its scrum as Steven Longwell replaced Dante Lopresti. Fa’anana-Schultz’s eight-man pick set the platform for Robertson to boot the ball over the top to Roberts-Te Nana. Te’o was no match for the wing, and Roberts-Te Nana dotted it under the posts for the seven-pointer. 

Utah responded with a booming kick from Schulte on a penalty. DC brought the maul down repeatedly, and Api Naikatini was sent off the pitch with a yellow card. The maul was brought down again on the fourth attempt, and the referee awarded the penalty try. The Warriors were only a point off the pace at 25-24 with 24 minutes left.

With the man advantage, Utah expanded the field and made the defense run. OG accepted the challenge but gave away too many opportunities to its opponent.  After a stolen lineout, Joseph Mano grabbed the loose ball at pace to the 10. Utah hammered it with the forwards, and Schulte banged through a penalty following an offsides call.

Back to full strength and down by two points, DC came right back with a penalty to retake the 28-27 lead. With about ten minutes left, Tusitala committed grand larceny, and the ball was passed to Robertson, who sprinted down the sideline. The ball was offloaded to Tusitala, but he was tackled into touch. Utah’s lineout was not straight, and OG took full advantage. DC executed its lineout maul to perfection, and Gibbins scored the bonus point try. Robertson was off the mark, but Old Glory led by six points with six minutes left.

Starting in the 74^th minute, Utah was methodical in its attack focusing on ball retention. The DC defense went blow for blow, but the Warriors crept deeper into the 22. A held ball gave Utah life with a five-meter scrum. The volume in the stadium grew as the time ticked past 80 minutes. The Warriors crashed the ball with their big men before Fraser Hurst passed it wide to Schulte. The flyhalf reversed his field and shot it to Kruse. The center took the sharp angle splitting two defenders for the try. Schulte nailed the all-important conversion for the 34-33 victory.