We're Going to the Ship! Toreros Prevail Over Vikings in Semis
USD faced Western Washington University in the D1-AA national semifinal. The match was played at USD on Manchester field with a later afternoon kickoff. It was a typical sunny day in San Diego with a breeze blowing west to east on the field. This would be the first meeting between the Toreros and the Vikings since last season’s 30-17 WWU victory.
USD decided to play with the wind at their back in the first half and attempt to build an early lead. The strategy would pay off as the Toreros quickly worked into the opposition 22 and began building pressure. An initial break from Devin Hoovel got the team close and then the ball was spun wide to Shane Jamison who beat his opposition for pace before stepping past the fullback for the first points. A conversion from Michael Lewis would put the score at 7-0 just four minutes into the contest. WWU would respond well with tactical kicking from flyhalf Max Stone putting USD near the own try line and under pressure. USD failed to exit cleanly and patience from the WWU forward pack led a try from lock Aidan Aschoff. The conversion from Stone put the score at 7-7 with almost 15 minutes played.
The rest of the first half was dominated by USD, with an outstanding effort from all 15 players to put forward a clinical 25-minute stretch. The first big play was made by Seni Fagbeni who hustled to charge down a clearance kick from Max Stone. Fagbeni pressured Stone as the ball bounced toward the WWU try line and the Vikings were in real trouble. After a hurried clearance kick the Toreros were running phases in the 22 again and staying patient with the ball in hand. Eventually, fly half Michael Lewis recognized space on the weak side and center Daniel Suhr saw a half gap and reached over to score. The next try for USD was a microcosm of their performance, with a player making the extra effort leading to points. A penalty kick near midfield was kicked to the corner by Lewis but didn’t reach touch. As WWU collected the ball on their own try line and tried to run it back, Nate Leff finished off his hard chase with a strong tackle on his opposite winger. The tackle jarred the ball loose and Shane Jamison was on the spot to pick the ball up and score in the corner. Lewis would convert the difficult kick from the corner for a 26-7 Torero lead. The Shane Jamison takeover was just getting started as the loose forward recognized space on the weak side of the play with the Toreros just outside their own 22. The rangy flanker would beat 6 defenders on a deceptive run that led to him being taken down inside the opposition's 22. The USD forward pack trailed well and ran a couple of phases before Paul Habeeb found himself with the ball in hand with only tight 5 forwards in front of him. He was up to the challenge and ran through a gap for the score. USD would finish off the half with a Michael Ramos pick and go to put the score at 29-7 at halftime.
The start of the second half needed to be controlled by WWU or the game would completely slip away from them. The Vikings got stuck and showed their mettle, and quickly got the break they needed when Nate Leff was shown a yellow card for a slap-down. USD would be down a man for the next 10 minutes and WWU wasted no time kicking to the corner and scoring a converted try off a rolling maul. Despite playing a man down USD was able to score again with Michael Ramos again picking and diving over from close range. The team got close to the line off a big break from Ramos himself, and it was a deserved second score for the big #8. The conversion from Lewis put the score at 36-14 with 1 minute left on the Leff sin bin.
The Toreros were soon back to full strength, but the Vikings continued their push to get back into the game. A Torero scrum was stolen near midfield and Viking center Nathan Mathis broke through. With defenders converging around him, the WWU chose to grubber deep into the USD try zone and winger Eli Ashman showed great effort to be first on the ball for a try. WWU would score soon after with a short-range score from flanker Israel Duncan. Stone converted and all of the sudden it was a 10-point game with 13 minutes to play, 36-26 in favor of USD. The Vikings continued storming back into the game and kicked a penalty deep to the corner in the 70th minute. Tensions were high on Manchester field as the USD forwards geared up to stop another maul. Pressure in the lineout led to a not-straight throw and a USD scrum in their own 22. The ball was quickly fed to Paul Habeeb who stepped his opposite man and had nothing but space in front of him. Habeeb carried deep into opposition territory to completely flip the field. Some back and forth ensured in the Viking’s half with USD continuing relentless pressure on the defense. With a couple of minutes to go Michael Ramos got over for his third try to ice the game. Things would finish at 43-26 in favor of USD.
Director of Rugby Kevin Eaton on the win: “80 minutes of high adrenaline rugby on Manchester Field today. This was a great advertisement for collegiate rugby with two outstanding teams seeking a berth in the national championship. WWU is a top side and showed a lot of heart for 80 minutes. I have no doubt they will be back at this level next year. The team definitely felt the support of the big crowd here on campus and we are always excited to live stream our games in HD on Youtube through TVX sports. The work top to bottom from our coaching staff and the 50 players on the roster has been inspirational this season. This group set out some pretty clear-cut goals at the beginning of the season and we are nearly there. We will compete for a 7s national title April 28-30 in D.C. and a 15s title in Boulder. I can’t think of a group I’d rather have to tackle the challenges in front of us.”
As always there are several players worthy of the LSKD man of the match. It is tough not to award the distinction to Michael Ramos who punched in 3 tries on the day, but this week we are recognizing another loose forward. Shane Jamison scored twice early in the first half and had an outstanding long-range run to set up another try. He was consistently physical on defense and his play raised the level of his teammates around him. A great performance from a senior in his last home game.
Starting Lineup
Torres Kapus
Logan Tatum ©
Seni Fagbeni
Dustin Braun
Sam Carlso
Shane Jamison
Jake Girar
Michael Ramos
Micky O’Leary
Michael Lewis
Nate Leff
Paul Habeeb
Daniel Suhr
Jackson Short
Devin Hoovel
Subs
Cameron Mahdavifar
Joey Shenton
Hunter Lysholm (60’ Fagbeni)
Christian Welch (65’ Girard)
Joey Varcoe
Gavin Saville
Felix Morales (65’ Short)
Finn McCarthy
Scoring
Tries
3 Ramos, 2 Jamison, Habeeb, Suhr
Conversions
4/7 Lewis
Final Score: 43-26
Man of the Match: Shane Jamison