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NOLA finished on the wrong side of the scoreboard once again as Chicago were 20-18 winners in a physical contest at The Gold Mine on Saturday. The Hounds got the edge in tactical kicking on a windy day in New Orleans, handing the home side their fifth straight defeat.
An early stalemate was broken by a Dorian Jones penalty goal 19 minutes in. Nate Augspurger then saw yellow for a high shot on Xavier Mignot. A minute later Harley Wheeler regathered a high ball from Jones and Julian Roberts wrapped around the outside, dancing down the sideline for a spectacular finish in the corner. Jones added three points after Lucas Rumball was binned for a high tackle, but a textbook lineout drive gave Dylan Fawsitt a try to put Chicago on the board just before halftime.
A yellow card to JP du Plessis for a breakdown infringement reduced the Gold to 14 men and the Hounds took full advantage. Christopher Hilsenbeck fended off his opposite number en route to a first try, and a second came from Maclean Jones when the flanker took a nifty inside pass from Luke White to angle in under the posts.
Jones attempted to get NOLA back in the game with a drop goal from 50 meters but the ball drifted wide left. Hilsenbeck was more accurate from the tee, making it 20-11 to the visitors with 15 minutes to play. Callum Botchar looked to have scored from short range but the TMO chimed in after the conversion and wiped the score off the board for what appeared a marginal offense. The Gold would eventually get their try through Aidan King from in close, but time ran out before they could find the winning score.
Both teams are on the road next Saturday. NOLA have a golden opportunity to shake off the losing streak against Anthem in Charlotte, while the Hounds have a date with the Legion in San Diego.
| SCORING |
NOLA 18
Tries (2) – J. Roberts (22′), A. King (76′)
Cons (1) – D. Jones 1/2 (77′)
Pens (2) – D. Jones 2/2 (19′, 34′)
DG (0) – D. Jones 0/1
YC (1) – J. du Plessis (51′)
CHICAGO 20
Tries (3) – D. Fawsitt (39′), C. Hilsenbeck (52′), M. Jones (54′)
Cons (1) – C. Hilsenbeck 0/2, No kick (54′)
Pens (1) – C. Hilsenbeck 1/1 (64′)
YC (2) – N. Augspurger (21′), L. Rumball (33′)
| LINEUPS |
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 Bart Vermeulen 57′), 2 Ale Lopeti (16 Joe Taufete’e 50′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Tyler Matchem 74′), 4 Kaden Duguid (19 Callum Botchar 50′), 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.) (20 Cian Darling 65′), 7 Aidan King, 8 Jonah Mau’u, 9 Luke Campbell (21 Damian Stevens 57′), 10 Dorian Jones, 11 Harley Wheeler, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Isaac Te Tamaki, 14 Xavier Mignot (23 Nikolai Foliaki 21′), 15 Julian Roberts
Not used: 22 Luke Carty
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Liam Fletcher 55′ {20 Matthew Oworu 69′}), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Jackson Zabierek 63′), 3 Charlie Abel (18 Ignacio Péculo 55′), 4 James Scott, 5 Hamish Bain (19 Luke White 54′), 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Mitch Short (21 Jason Higgins 27′-36′) (23 Noah Flesch 67′), 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck (22 Tim Swiel 66′), 11 Nate Augspurger (21 Jason Higgins 57′), 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Adriaan Carelse
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: The Gold Mine, Metairie
Kickoff: 18:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 73°F (25°C), wind SE 16-23mph (26-37km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Jarrod Ford (USA) & Tom Ciampa (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
