By Aaron Wilson
It was a tightly contested defensive battle Friday night between the Houston SaberCats and the Seattle Seawolves.
It was a back-and-forth contest between the banged-up SaberCats and a longtime Western Conference division rival.
Ultimately, the SaberCats absorbed a narrow loss Friday night at Starfire Stadium and dropped to 9-5 overall for the season heading into a much-needed bye.
Despite a hat trick of three penalty goals by A.J. Alatimu and a lot of time spent near the Seawolves’ try zone, the SaberCats came up short in a game televised by ESPN+.
“It was a very defensive game, a low-scoring game,” SaberCats veteran Pono Davis said in a telephone interview before the team’s flight back to Houston. “We stuck to our game and played the way we played. Getting back to the basics. Not much I can say about it, but it was a tough game. It just swung their way toward the end, and they kept going with the momentum and came out with a well-fought win. We were in their half of the field for most of the game. We just couldn’t execute and finish and get the ball down in the try zone.”
The SaberCats trailed 7-6 at halftime. A pair of Alatimu penalty goals opened the game’s scoring.
Alatimu would add another penalty goal in the second half, but a try from Jesse Mackail sealed the game for the Seawolves.
Alatimu scored all nine of the SaberCats’ points as they had zero tries as a squad.
“Absolutely, we certainly created a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t finish,” team captain Nathan Den Hoedt said from the team bus on the way to the airport. “We didn’t capitalize on opportunities and we turned the ball over too much.”
Rufus Mclean led the team with 15 carries and also had 137 meters made along with two clean breaks, a game-high and crossed the gainline nine times.
Taulatasi Tasi had 55 meters for the SaberCats.
Jay Renton led the team with 56 passes.
Drew Wild and Johan Momsen had four defenders beaten apiece.
Tinashe Muchena had 21 tackles to lead the team, followed by a dozen each for Pita Anae-Ah Sue and Justin Basson.
The SaberCats head into an open week with time to reflect as they push toward clinching a spot in the Major League Rugby playoffs.
They’ve been a resilient side all year.
“That was one thing we could take away,” Davis said. “You could see the effort and the fight in the boys. Everyone wanted to win. We were fighting to the last minute and they came out with the W instead of us.”
After the match, veteran coach Pote Human told the players that it was time to recharge to finish the season strongly.
“That was the message,” Davis said. “He saw the effort. He just wants us to enjoy our bye week. Hopefully, we’ll be getting some of the boys back and we’ll be good.”
The SaberCats return to action June 4 against the Chicago Hounds on the road after the week off. They close out the regular season June 8 against Anthem RC at Houston SaberCats Stadium.
“We’re very aware we’ve got two tough games coming up,” Den Hoedt said. “It’s very important because we haven’t locked up a spot. We need to win those two games, and that’s certainly the goal.”
