Seattle Seawolves (6-2) lost on the road in a scrappy possession game with the Utah Warriors (6-2) 41-35 in Week 9.
Warriors scored a try in the first minute of the match, 7-0. Momentum quickly shifted as the Seawolves defense came out strong with a tackle by Ina Futi, a stop by Sam Matenga, and a turnover for Seattle. A Seawolves penalty try evened out the score 7-7. However, soon afterwards, Warriors received a second yellow card for a high tackle on Futi, resulting in two Warriors players down on the pitch.
Duncan Matthews took the opportunity to find his lane through the tough Warriors defense to score a try, and Alatimu with the conversion kick put the Seawolves in the lead 7-14. Utah responded by scoring twice in the second half, and the Seawolves went into the shed down 21-14.
In the second half, Futi scored within the first two minutes, with Alatimu making the conversion kick, evening the score, 21-21. Utah returned with a try and conversion kick, 28-21. Conner Mooneyham with his lightning fast speed found the try zone, and Alatimu with the conversion kick again, tying the score 28-28.
After Seawolves collapsed the scrum, Warriors took a penalty kick, 31-28. Another two tries by Utah with missed conversions, 41-28. In the last five minutes, Seattle mauls into the try zone, 41-35. A valiant effort for the comeback, but with time running out, the Seawolves came up short in a rally to try to score in the final moments of the match.
With two bonus points for 4 tries and losing by less than 7 points, Seattle now ranks 3rd in the Western Conference with 29 overall points behind San Diego and Houston.
Seawolves are away in Week 10 at the Toronto Arrows Saturday, April 23rd at 1pm. Join us at Wing Dome at the Seattle Armory for our away match viewing party!
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