The wind came off Lake Washington with a vengeance Saturday and had its say as Western Washington faced the University of Washington in Seattle in the playoff final of the Northwest Collegiate Conference.

What the wind said to the Huskies was, “you didn’t do quite enough.”

“I told the guys at the beginning of the game that it looked like a 15-point wind, so when we were up only eight points at halftime, I knew it was going to be tough,” said UW Head Coach Kevin Swiryn. 

And so it was. The Vikings scored two tries, one converted, and a penalty - those 15 points Swiryn talked about - and WWU overhauled UW to win 29-22.

“The wind was a big factor for both teams,” said Western Washington Head Coach Paul Horne. “We really didn’t let them out of their 22 most of the second half. We defended really well, our tactical kicking was very good, and we countered when they kicked. That’s how we came back.”

Washington ran out to a 22-7 lead, but faltered late in the first half, as the Vikings scored before half-time to cut the lead.

“We were playing really, really well, and we had two mistakes that Western capitalized on,” said Swiryn. “And then in the second half, we had two opportunities to attack inside their 22 - only two - and we lost both set pieces. They were bigger than us, and late in the game we got tired and started falling off tackles. Western’s willingness to keep grinding it out won it for them.”

Nick Bonovich scored two tries for Western, one on a 40-meter intercept that instilled some life in a Viking side that was watching the game slip away. Louie Henson scored on two driving mauls, and Gio Trujillo was a monster.

“We say he’s our Marshawn Lynch,” said Horne, referring to the Seattle Seahawks running back. “We would run with two, three, four guys trying to tackle him. Nick Solimano added three conversions and a penalty to cap the win for Western.

It was an impressive comeback by Western, especially since it was a comeback that needed to happen on the back of patience and smart tactical play. They had to kick deep, defend, and wait for their chances. Those chances came.

So for Western it’s on to the DIAA playoffs. For Washington, they still look ahead to the Varsity Cup’s DIAA tournament. But more, for the Huskies, there’s a bright future.

“Coming into the season,  this was a rebuilding year,” said Swiryn. “We’d lost 17 seniors and had zero expectations of success. But the thing about it is, when you start to get some success your expectations change. So as we got better, we expected more. Are we disappointed? Absolutely, but Western deserved to win and play a good style of rugby. The fact that we could have won it is a massive testament to the players and the commitment. We exceeded any and all expectations, and we’re losing only three guys out of 32, so we’re excited for next year.”

Western, meanwhile, shook off an earlier loss to UW and a close win over Oregon to beat both teams in the playoffs in impressive fashion. They continue to improve, and will get a chance to show how much.