Utah Warriors Fall To Seattle Seawolves Amid Hunt For Playoff Spot
Jun 4, 2023, 10:35 PM | Updated: 10:38 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Warriors failed to pick up a much-needed victory to move up the Western Conference standings after falling on the road to the Seattle Seawolves.
The Seawolves hosted the Warriors at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington on Sunday, June 4.
Utah lost to Seattle, 27-20.
— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) June 5, 2023
Seattle got things started by scoring the first points of the match by dotting the ball down for a try in the fifth minute of action. The try and a subsequent conversion kick gave the Seawolves a 7-0 lead.
During the 18th minute, the Warriors found their first points of the match on a nifty play. The scoring play began with a kick from Joel Hodgson and ended with Bailey Wilson scoring a try. After Wilson’s try, Caleb Makene failed to make a kick and the Warriors still trailed the Seawolves, 7-5.
The kick ➡️ the offload ➡️ the try 👌 pic.twitter.com/N5aNxbJAiN
— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) June 5, 2023
Seattle quickly responded with another try in the 21st minute. The Seawolves connected on their following conversion kick and stretched their lead to 14-5.
The Warriors found points again after a Seawolves penalty in the 34th minute. Makene drilled a penalty kick for three points to trim Seattle’s advantage to 14-8.
Shortly before halftime, Utah took its first lead of the game in the 39th minute on a try by Joe Mano and a conversion kick by Makene. Mano and Makene pushed Utah in front of Seattle at the break, 15-14.
A look at that beautiful try from Joe 🤌 pic.twitter.com/skZVwWHO1X
— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) June 5, 2023
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Following halftime, the Seawolves regained the lead after making a penalty kick in the 44th minute. The kick put Seattle ahead of Utah, 17-15.
In the 63rd minute, the Seawolves extended their lead to five points, 20-15, on a penalty kick.
Seattle’s scoring streak continued with the game’s first try of the second half coming in the 72nd minute. After a conversion kick, the Seawolves went up 27-15.
The Warriors found their first points of the second on a try by Mano, his second of the match. Makene was unable to make a conversion kick after the try and the scoreboard stood at 27-20. Seattle held off Utah during the final minutes of the match to claim victory.
Joe Mano with his league-leading 14th try of the season for @utwarriorsrugby to bring them within one converted try with time left for one last kick off!
📺 @therugbynetwork | #SEAvUTAH | #MLR2023 pic.twitter.com/nh9DbwV4DU
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) June 5, 2023
With the loss, the Warriors fell to a 9-5 record this season. By losing by seven points or fewer, Utah earned one losing bonus point and improve to 44 points in the standings. Houston sits four points ahead of Utah in the standings for third place and the final playoff spot in the West.
RELATED: Utah Warriors Drop Seattle Seawolves In High-Scoring Win
The Warriors have two matches left in the regular season.
Utah’s next match is at home against the Chicago Hounds on Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. (MDT). The game will be broadcast on the KSL Sports app and on sports.ksl.com. In March, Utah defeated Chicago in Illinois, 14-10.
