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San Diego will be playing for their playoff lives on Saturday night. The cold reality is that the Legion’s fate is now largely out of their hands. Even a victory would not protect them against a bonus point win from Seattle on Sunday, which is a very achievable task for the Seawolves. Old Glory on the other hand have nothing to gain and have rested a handful of their best players with an eye towards an upset in the Eastern Conference Semi Final next weekend.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
7-8-0 (L3) West 5th
8-7-0 (L1) East 3rd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Shilo Klein | Hugh Roach |
| 7 | Christian Poidevin | Jimmy Hokafonu |
| 11 | Rhian Stowers | Tomas Aoake |
| 12 | Tavite Lopeti | Cassh Maluia |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Cali Martinez | Jack Iscaro |
| 2 | KoiKoi Nelligan | Facundo Gattas |
| 5 | Bill Whiteside | Rob Harley |
| 6 | Tevita Naqali | Lautaro Bavaro |
| 7 | Collin Grosse | Cory Daniel |
| 9 | Ethan McVeigh | Connor Buckley |
| 10 | John Powers | Jason Emery |
| 11 | Owen Sheehy | Nick Grigg |
| 12 | Tommaso Boni | Steff Hughes |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(8) – Telea-Ilalio, Klein, Helu, Lopeti, James, Sylvia, Brache (USA), Holloway (Australia)
(7) – Martinez (Canada), Dotti (Uruguay), Fa’anana-Schultz, McVeigh, Boni (USA), Hoyland, Grigg (Scotland)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Paddy Ryan (FL/N8), Richard Judd (SH), Lincoln McClutchie (FH)
– Jack Iscaro (LH), Rob Harley (LO), Jason Robertson (FH)
| PREDICTION |
Typical southern California weather awaits which should make for a pleasant evening for Legion fans, in what is certain to be the Legion’s final home game this season. John Manenti has made a handful of changes to the run-on side with Lincoln McClutchie again notably left out of the No10 shirt he has worn for much of the season. DC will field a respectable lineup but are clearly comfortable with defeat, and will be most keen to avoid any injuries knowing they’ll be back on the road for their high stakes match next weekend. San Diego are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Darcy Breen, 4 Jed Holloway, 5 Zak Farrance, 6 Vili Helu, 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Brad Wilkin (capt.), 9 Connor Tupai, 10 Steffan Crimp, 11 Rhian Stowers, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Junior Time-Taotua, 14 Ryan James, 15 Ethan Grayson
Replacements: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Jimmy Hokafonu, 21 Connor Tupai, 22 Marcel Brache, 23 Tomas Aoake
OLD GLORY DC
1 Cali Martinez, 2 KoiKoi Nelligan, 3 Sam Davies, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Bill Whiteside, 6 Tevita Naqali, 7 Collin Grosse, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (capt.), 9 Ethan McVeigh, 10 John Powers, 11 Owen Sheehy, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 Damien Hoyland, 14 John Rizzo, 15 Axel Müller
Replacements: 16 Martín Vaca, 17 Quentin Newcomer, 18 Isikeli Kava, 19 Brady Daniel, 20 Logan Weidner, 21 Connor Buckley, 22 Jason Emery, 23 Nick Grigg
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, June 7
Venue: Torero Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 19:00 local (22:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 64°F (18°C), wind W 9-13mph (14-21km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, KUSI, Monumental Sports, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Will Nelson (USA) & Fernando García (Mexico)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5) – San Diego 4, DC 1
2025-03-01 – Old Glory DC 10, San Diego Legion 26 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2024-03-23 – Old Glory DC 11, San Diego Legion 27 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2023-04-02 – San Diego Legion 48, Old Glory DC 26 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2022-03-06 – San Diego Legion 24, Old Glory DC 12 (SDSU Sports Deck)
2021-07-10 – Old Glory DC 38, San Diego Legion 29 (Segra Field)
