Seawolves win season, home opener 20-18

The Seattle Seawolves fought to defend its Major League Rugby Championship title during the home opener against the Glendale Raptors Jan. 27 at Starfire Stadium.

Before warm ups started up, the Seawolves were presented with a championship ring. The Seawolves won the title by beating the Raptors 23-19 during the first ever Major League Rugby Championship game July 7, 2018.

In front of a sold out crowd Sunday, the Seawolves won the close match 20-18.

A recap of the match provided by the Seawolves is below.

The Seawolves next game will be televised on ROOT Sports at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 when it faces the San Diego Legion.

The next home game is 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17 at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.

Game Recap:

KICK OFF:

A fresh face for the Seawolves, USA Eagle, Ben Cima kicked things off at Starfire. The kick went deep and Glendale collected, only to end up exiting and giving Seattle the line out. Glendale strung phases but the Seawall held strong. An offside call led to Glendale converting a penalty, 3-0 Glendale 16 minutes in.

20 MINUTES:

Tensions continued to rise at the 20th minute and Seattle was called for a high tackle penalty. Glendale paid it back shortly after with an offside penalty leading to Brock Staller converting a penalty kick, tying it up 3-3 at the 27th minute. A little back and forth play was broken up with a big run from Mat Turner, and ultimately a try by Tim Metcher was the outcome. Brock’s conversion was good and the Seawolves led at the 30th minute, 10-3. Seattle did their best to make a stop before the half but was eventually called for not rolling away. Glendale converted on a penalty kick to bring the score to 10-6 Seattle at the half.

40 MINUTES:

Glendale started off the half with a quick try and followed by a conversion that brought the score to 10-13 Glendale at the 44th minute. Glendale charged forward within a couple of minutes to bring in another try, but missed the kick. Glendale extended their lead to 10-18 at the 47th minute.

60 MINUTES:

Following a long Glendale possession and a tough Seawall, a dropped ball gave the Seawolves the ball back. Staller fired ahead and chipped the ball up and over the Glendale defense and collected it himself to dot down for a try. Staller converted his own and brought the score to 17-18 Glendale as the game entered the 60th minute.

80 MINUTES:

In the 75th minute the Seawolves were able to turn the Raptors scrum all the way around. A penalty was awarded to Seattle and Staller lined up for the kick. With a silent stadium, Staller lined up for a penalty kick and brought the Seawolves back in the lead, 20-18. It wasn’t long before Glendale was able to attempt for a penalty, but on the 50 meter. The kick went wide right and the Seawolves held the lead with two minutes to go.