U San Diego Rounds Out CRAA D1AA Final Quartet With Win Over WWU
U San Diego Rounds Out CRAA D1AA Final Quartet With Win Over WWU
The CRAA D1AA semifinals matchups are set after San Diego won their playoff game Saturday.
The USD Toreros will play Iowa State, the team they defeated to win it all last year. Meanwhile, Florida champions St. Thomas will face Sam Houston State. The winners will play Sunday for the championship.
For University of San Diego, this was an intense trip to the semis for USD, as they had to wade through California Conference North champs American River before traveling north to Bellingham, Wash., to face Western Washington.
San Diego started the game on defense as WWU tested and probed. But a loose ball from the Vikings was scooped up by center Paul Habeeb and taken 50 meters to score under the posts. It was very fitting that it was Habeeb who broke the ice, as he has been a massive part of USD’s success over the past several years, and his ability to score clutch tries, whether at the beginning of the game or at the end, has been a hallmark of his time in San Diego.
Western then hurt themselves, as their restart didn’t go 10 meters. That resulted in a scrum center for USD and they made the most of it, working Michael Lewis down the sideline and seeing Cade Caufield in support to finish it off.
WWU was able to settle down a little bit and even though they were still backed up, they slowed down USD enough to just make it a penalty goal from Lewis.
On the front foot, finally, WWU got a penalty and ran a very well-run maul about 15 meters. USD was able to stop it, however, before WWU got over the line. What followed soon thereafter was part of the story. Western had a lineout and from there ran the ball through eight more phases. The result was almost no ground gained, and ball lost forward.
From the ensuing scrum well inside the USD half, Habeeb took a line to the right and made halfway, drew two players, before passing to wing Jackson Short.
After cutting back inside, Short set a ruck inside the WWU 22, and scrumhalf Caleb Tomasin picked up and headed for the corner.
Five minutes of camping out in the San Diego half netted Western Washington no points. With the scrum put-in, USD took 20 seconds to cover 75 meters and be knocking on the WWU door. Three forward charges later the Toreros were over the line. Torres Kapust did the honors and Lucas Troughear converted.
Up 22-0, San Diego was in control. But a pointless offside on a long kick put them back in their half and George Pritchard slotted an impressive kick to put WWU on the scoreboard.
Western’s defense was very good in the last 10 minutes of the first half. They also played fast when they could, at one point taking a quick lineout when a USD clearance kick went out on the full. Of course, the best defense is a good offense, and when WWU kept the ball, U. San Diego wasn’t scoring tries. The Vikings weren’t, either, as they still struggled to find gaps in the USD line.
Too many penalties, however, and when USD collapsed a promising maul late in the first half, they got a yellow card.
Up a player in the second half, Western Washington had to work their way to get into scoring position and finally the forwards were able to pile over. Conversion good and we had a closer game at 22-10.
WWU had further chances after that, but San Diego kept focused on their defense. Even as they were unable to strike quickly, they settled into keep the Vikings at arm’s length.
With efficient double tackles and, eventually, a plan to avoid penalties, they were able to survive a couple of mistakes.
Eleven minutes into the second half USD defended a scrum eight meters from their line. A tackle on the eightman pick forced a loose pass and the Toreros kicked the ball ahead. A good chase forced a USD lineout at their 22. They kicked clear, but the ball had been passed back into their 22 so, with the kick going out on the full, the ball was brought back to the 22. WWU won the lineout and went through 11 phases while losing 30 meters. However, the next movement allowed the Vikings to break through for about 10 meters only for play to be stopped for an injury. Scrum to WWU and then a sequence that saw them driven back into their own half and then work it forward again—12 phases to get past the gainline of that original lineout. The next move saw a wide, high pass picked off by … guess who … Habeeb. Eighty meters later he was in under the posts and San Diego had taken the momentum.
It just took way too long for Western Washington to get close to scoring tries, and USD was smart enough to trust their tackling and, when they got the ball in their own half, put boot to ball.
Chase Basson’s try sealed it, but it was that 23-tackle period ending in Habeeb’s interception that confirmed who would win the game.
"We always relish our contests with WWU," said San Diego DOR Keavin Eaton. "We are always impressed with the level of hospitality provided by WWU when we visit Bellingham. They are a first-class outfit run by high level coaches. We have gotten the best of them the last few years but it's never comfortable and always exciting. These matches are a great display of what high level club teams with committed staff and players can produce on the field. It's a great venue at Harrington field and the level of officiating was fantastic. While the match was frustrating at times for us given our miscues on attack, our defense kept us ahead on the scoreboard. Our biggest challenges lie ahead of us as we gear up for the final four."
