The pitch, already slick with mud at the start of the match, forced plenty of handling errors in the opening 25 minutes as the two sides settled into playing in the monsoon. San Diego Legion, who retained most of the possession through the opening 15 minutes, had several attacking opportunities inside Seattle’s half, but were thwarted by a combination of knock-ons and turnovers. Once it was Seattle’s turn to retain possession, they too fell victim to passing and handling errors, slowing the match into scrums and slow phase play.
Once again, the matched devolved into rainy chaos bogged in the mud for another eight minutes before Legion winger Mike Te’o found himself on the ball in open space and raced past hapless Seattle defenders for a scorching try. Thanks to the rain, Te’o’s slide into the tryzone saw him slide out the back of the try zone and almost into the rear stadium retaining wall, nearly 15 m from where he started his slide. Scrum-Half Nick Boyer’s conversion sailed through without complaint and San Diego went into the break 14-3 ahead.
Even after another penalty by Staller sailed through in the 70th minute, the San Diego defense held resolute to their four point lead. Massive tackles from Drew Gaffney, Devon Short, and the replacement hooker Kapeli Pifeleti forced the Seawolves farther and farther back away from the San Diego 22. Clock management eventually became San Diego’s best ally and the Legion were able thwart the Seawolves’ comeback as time expired.
San Diego legion’s first victory of the season was a statement of intent delivered to the league’s reigning champion! The Red and Black will be back in action next Saturday against the Houston S