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A last-gasp try from Olive Kilifi against his former team gave the Utah Warriors a 29-28 win over the Seawolves on Sunday. Seattle fans were left heartbroken as they watched a 28-15 second half lead slip away in the final quarter.
Utah crossed the line just two minutes into the match. JP Smith’s clearance attempt from the opening kickoff was charged down and led to a penalty. The Warriors took the lineout and when the initial push was stopped Franco van den Berg muscled his way over from short range.
The calamitous opening was ominous but the Seawolves held their composure and responded ahead of the hydration break. Ross Neal and Riekert Hattingh made good ground down the left sideline, and after a series of phases the captain punched in beside the post to level the scores.
Seattle were caught unawares at a lineout soon after. Matt Jensen was a decoy as the ball instead went to Bailey Wilson peeling around the front. He fended off Devereaux Ferris before carrying two defenders over the line for a try. Calvin Whiting couldn’t land the extras from the tricky angle.
The Seawolves fired back with two tries in a span of four minutes. A grubber kick from AJ Alatimu bounced up for Neal for the first. The second went to Naulia Dawai, who picked and drove over after Neal had crashed into the midfield off an attacking scrum.
Whiting made good with a penalty on the stroke of halftime to make it 21-15 with the home side in the lead. When the two teams emerged for the second half, the light sprinkling of rain had changed into a heavy downpour.
An enormous clearance kick from Smith gained 80 meters of territory for Seattle. The ball was turned over at the lineout and went wide left to Suliasi Tamaivena. He was met by two defenders but offloaded to Neal, with the big center going low and hard to score his second try.
The Warriors regrouped at the water break and won an attacking lineout. Seattle stopped two successive mauls but Jurie van Vuuren spun out of a tackle and over for the try, with Whiting’s conversion making it a six-point game.
Two penalty attempts from Alatimu went begging and then Hagen Schulte kicked Utah inside Seattle territory. There would be no escape for the Seawolves, as the Warriors piled on the pressure until Kilifi forced his way over. Whiting’s kick split the uprights to secure the victory.
It’s a home game for the Warriors next Saturday as they host the San Diego Legion in a match with significant playoff implications. Seattle head east where the New England Free Jacks await on Sunday.
SCORING
SEATTLE 28
Tries – R. Hattingh (17’), R. Neal 2 (30’, 50’), N. Dawai (34’)
Cons – No kick (17’), A. Alatimu 3/3 (31’, 35’, 51’)
Pens – A. Alatimu 0/2
UTAH 29
Tries – F. van den Berg (2’), B. Wilson (22’), J. van Vuuren (59’), O. Kilifi (80’)
Cons – C. Whiting 3/4 (3’, 60’, 80’)
Pens – C. Whiting 1/1 (40’)
TEAMS
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa HT), 2 James Malcolm, 3 Tim Metcher (18 Jake Ilnicki 50’), 4 Ben Landry (21 Tommy Clark 72’), 5 Rhyno Herbst (19 Conor McGill 66′), 6 Brad Tucker (20 Les Soloai 58′), 7 Naulia Dawai, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 Devereaux Ferris (23 Kieran Joyce 70’), 10 JP Smith, 11 Suliasi Tamaivena, 12 AJ Alatimu, 13 Ross Neal, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Akihito Yamada
Not used: 16 Mike Shepherd, 22 George Barton
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg (17 Olive Kilifi 52′), 2 Veremalua Vugakoto (16 Chad Gough 60’), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 56’), 4 Aston Fortuin (19 Saia Uhila 60’), 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Lance Williams (20 Mike Gieselman 56’), 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Michael Baska (21 Fraser Hurst 68’), 10 Calvin Whiting, 11 Josh Whippy (23 James Vaifale 75’), 12 Derek Ellingson (22 Hagen Schulte 47’), 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Mike Te’o
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistants: Denny Russell (USA) & Ryan Curtis (USA)
