San Diego, CA — NOLA GOLD fell to the San Diego Legion after a hard-fought eighty minutes on Sunday, April 14th. With a final score of 33-20, the GOLD now find themselves in the middle of the Eastern Conference pack.

With thirteen points separating the two sides in the final score, you may not guess it was a close game, but that was the case; in fact, for most of the fixture, NOLA GOLD led. NOLA opened the scoring early with a 12’ Ed Fidow try; this was the product of enterprising, free-flowing rugby. The GOLD built on this lead late in the first half through a try from NOLA native William Waguespack. NOLA went into the half with a commanding 17-0 lead.

After the break, the Legion proved why no lead is safe in this league — especially against a club of San Diego’s caliber. From the minute the second-half whistle blew, it was all Legion. Their energy was noticeable, their play was clean, and the scoreline changed bit by bit to reflect the class that they offer. 

The Legion first bit into NOLA’s lead with a try in the forty-ninth minute and never looked back. NOLA mustered an additional three points in direct response to this try, but San Diego marched towards the try zone relentlessly thereafter. The Legion outscored the GOLD 33-3 in the second half to claim victory. This is a humbling reminder of a similar loss to the Jackals last week, and NOLA will surely want to move on from this fixture quickly. The GOLD have a chance for redemption against the newcomer Miami Sharks on Saturday, April 20th.