By Aaron Wilson
For the Houston SaberCats, an encouraging finish against Rugby FC Los Angeles delivered their first victory of the season.
Now, the defending Western Conference division champions are on the hunt for another win Saturday night against the Seattle Seawolves.
It’s a matter of continuing the momentum built during a dominant second half on the West Coast and getting off to a faster start.
The SaberCats (1-1) fell behind and trailed in the first half in their season-opener.
An incredible turnaround, outscoring their opponent 33-0 in the second half, propelled the SaberCats to a comeback victory.
Keeping that scoring punch going and cutting out penalties could go a long way toward beating the Seawolves at SaberCats Stadium. The Seawolves lost their first game to the San Diego Legion.
The SaberCats are looking to give their fans an “Experience it Live,” moment.
“We can keep building,” Emmanuel Albert said. “Being back in front of the home crowd, the biggest thing is to keep building this momentum and give our fans a win at home and something they can enjoy and be proud of. We want to keep building on our season and be the No. 1 team in Houston. That’s what we strive to be.”
In order to accomplish that goal, the SaberCats need to continue to follow a disciplined approach and the strategies set forth by veteran coach Pote Human.
“The mindset is to take each game one at a time,” Ezekiel Lindenmuth said. “We need to focus and not take anything for granted. We got this last win through hard work and doing things the right way.”
Having experienced just their third loss in the past two seasons after finishing 14-2 last season, the SaberCats are accustomed to success.
Staying grounded and hungry are the watchwords for the SaberCats as they try to adapt to their new, more open space style of play.
Staying fresh is another priority.
“The main thing is recovery and get back to the drawing board,” said Max Schumacher, who had a try against Los Angeles in his first start for the SaberCats.
The SaberCats defeated Seattle last season in a landmark moment for the franchise.
This is a new year, though.
“This is a match we targeted because it’s Seattle week,” Schumacher said. “We know it will be a tough battle. If we do what we need to do and are physical and stick to our plan, things will work out in our favor.”
