NEWS

MLR Week 18 Wrap-Up: Playoff Picture Uncertain

NOLA Gold 22 – 24 Rugby United New York

Rugby United New York ground out a tough 24-22 victory over the visiting NOLA Gold in a match that went all the way down to the wire on Sunday afternoon.

Both Gold (9-6) and RUNY (11-4) mustered up three tries apiece in the tilt, but the difference ultimately came down to a penalty try and a missed NOLA conversion. A RUNY scrum early in the first half forced NOLA into conceding a penalty try, and the extra two points that came with it served as the difference in the result.

The four points that RUNY picked up in the loss places them in second place with 53 points with one match to play. NOLA picked up a bonus point in the loss but find themselves on the outside looking in with 53 points in fifth place.

NOLA will close out the season in San Diego with an incredibly important match against the first-place Legion (11-3-1) on Sunday, June 2 while Toronto will welcome RUNY on the same day.

Glendale Raptors 12 – 40 Toronto Arrows

The Toronto Arrows defeated the Glendale Raptors 40-12 on Sunday afternoon to win their sixth-straight match.

Sunday afternoon’s match was significant for a few reasons. The match didn’t only serve as Toronto’s (10-5) sixth-straight win, it kept the Arrows in the third playoff spot while also eliminating Glendale (7-6-2) from playoff contention. The Arrows used six tries to knock off the Raptors. Gaston Mieres and Sam Malcolm each scored 10 points in the win.

The Arrows picked up five points in the victory to move into third place in the table with 53 points. They sit ahead of the Seattle Seawolves and the NOLA Gold, who also have 53 points. Glendale didn’t pick up any points in the loss and remain in sixth place with 43 points.

Toronto will host RUNY (11-4) on Sunday, June 2 while Glendale will wrap up their season against the Houston SaberCats (4-10) on Wednesday, May 29 down in Texas.

Utah Warriors 27 – 27 Seattle Seawolves

The Utah Warriors and Seattle Seawolves battled to a 27-27 draw on Sunday evening at Starfire Stadium.

Despite scoring four tries to Seattle’s (10-4-1) three, the Warriors (2-11-2) weren’t able to hang on to an early lead. Seattle pitched a shutout second half and knocked in a penalty goal to tie the match at 27 points apiece in the final frame.

With the four-try bonus point, the Utah Warriors picked up three points in the match to move up to 20 points in the league table. They remain in eighth place. Seattle picked up two points in the draw and sit in the fourth and final playoff spot with 53 points and one match to play.

The Warriors will close the out the season in Houston on Saturday, June 1 against the SaberCats (4-10) while the Seawolves will host Austin Elite Rugby (0-15) on Sunday, June 2.

Austin Elite Rugby 15 – 36 Houston SaberCats

Read more about the SaberCats 36-15 victory over Austin Elite Rugby here.