Anthem Score Four Tries, Drop Final Home Match To Legion

Sunday May 31 2026, 4:00pm ET, American Legion Memorial Stadium – Charlotte, NC – Written by Dan Brooks

For all the talk of must-win games and playoff arithmetic, the tone of this one was set inside three minutes. Anthem conceded two early penalties, California quick-tapped from the second, and Nick Chan, the center who missed the Week 1 meeting through injury, burst through the heart of the midfield defense to score between the posts. Coby Miln converted, and the visitors had the early advantage. It was a fast start from a California side clearly intent on avenging their Week 1 defeat.

The first half was a frustrating one for the home crowd, because there was plenty to like about Anthem’s attacking play. The home side created chances throughout, and there were passages that showed exactly the kind of rugby Coach Cuca has been building towards all season: Luke Carty’s crossfield kick that nearly found Makeen Alikhan, a sustained multi-phase attack that was held up over the California line, Julian Roberts dancing through contact on the edge. The finishing just would not come, and the penalty count hurt. Anthem conceded 19 penalties to California’s 10 on the afternoon, and every time they failed to convert pressure into points, the Legion made them pay on the counterattack. Lance Williams crossed after a slick 21 pattern off a lineout on 20 minutes. Cole Semu produced a devastating line break and support run five minutes later. Steffan Crimp dotted down off a Bertrano chip kick on the half hour, and Bertrano himself scored just before the break to make it 33-7 at halftime. It was an impressive demonstration of California’s attacking potency, and it gave Anthem plenty of work to do after the break.

The second half, to their enormous credit, was a different story. Whatever Coach Cuca said at the interval clearly hit home, and the response was immediate. Anthem kept the ball through nine phases inside the California 22, stretching the defense from touchline to touchline, until Roberts floated a pass wide to find Campbell Robb lurking on the wing. The hooker, playing out wide as he has done several times this season, finished cleanly in the corner and celebrated with his trademark finger guns. Carty nailed the conversion from the touchline, and at 33-14 the crowd found its voice again. “That’s a Kiwi right there,” vice-captain Alex Maughan said of Robb’s wing play afterward. “The beauty of being able to be versatile. With Campbell, you can play in the middle of the field with the big heavies or you can go score tries out with the backs.”

California steadied through a Miln penalty and two more tries either side of the hour mark, stretching the lead to 50-14, but Anthem refused to go quietly. Tom Pittman finished off a sharp move that started with a Karl Keane break through midfield and was kept alive by Roberts, though Carty’s conversion struck the post. And then Zion Going produced the moment of individual brilliance the afternoon deserved: coming off the back of a lineout maul, the scrumhalf showed to the short side, spun back the other way, spotted a gap in the California defense, and powered through to score. Carty converted, and at 50-26 Anthem had their four tries. Going finished as Anthem’s top points scorer on the day with 10, a fitting reward for a player who has grown into the scrumhalf jersey with each passing week.

The final minutes were eventful. Alikhan, who had been carded earlier in the first half when Anthem were under sustained pressure, received a second yellow that was upgraded to a red, leaving the home side down to 14 for the closing stages. California added a final try to make it 55-26, but the last act of the match belonged to Anthem: Roberts took the ball in midfield and beat five or six tacklers on a run that had the entire stadium on its feet, Will Sherman broke through the defensive line from the ensuing lineout, and the home side were still throwing the ball around when the final whistle confirmed the defeat.

The statistics tell a story of a match that was closer in many areas than the scoreboard suggested. Anthem made more carries (149 to 141), covered nearly identical carry distance (944 meters to 942), beat more defenders (26 to 24), and made more passes (186 to 167). Jordan Trainor led all players with five offloads and 149 meters in carry distance, and Roberts was not far behind with 84 meters and his customary ability to find space where none seemed to exist. The area that needs attention is discipline: 19 penalties conceded, nearly double California’s 10, and the scrum, which had been the best in the league all season, did not have its usual dominance, winning 67% of their feeds against a California pack that went at 100%. Maughan was honest about it afterward. “We came in there with the hope to be aggressive, and it just didn’t happen today,” the tighthead said. “Going down to seven is always hard when it comes to scrumming. But last week we got ten penalties against New England. So the good thing is it’s a learning game.”

It was Sam Golla’s 50th MLR appearance, has been one of the pillars of this program since its inception. Golla led the defensive effort throughout before making way for Will Sherman in the second half. Malacchi Esdale, who came on as a blood replacement for Conner Mooneyham early in the second half, made an immediate impact with three tackles in quick succession to deny California on the Anthem line, a defensive stand that kept the home side in the contest at a critical moment. Marques Fuala’au, too, was outstanding off the bench. Assistant coach Brendan O’Meara singled him out: “He’s come off the bench and he’s never come off the bench and not been incredibly impactful. Winning collisions, dominant tackles, winning turnovers, dominant carries.” Elias Garza was another who caught the eye, earning his most minutes of the season and showing the kind of development that Maughan has watched closely from the front row all year. “Guys like Elias Garza have made leaps and bounds in the scrumming aspect,” Maughan said. “It’s good to see what the future holds for him.”

O’Meara’s assessment of the broader picture was characteristically direct. “We’ve asked for effort. We’ve asked for intensity. And we feel the last couple games, we’ve gotten what we’ve asked for there,” he said. “But the reality is, this is professional rugby. If you don’t bring accuracy, that doesn’t mean you get a win.” It has been a recurring challenge this season: Anthem create enough chances to trouble anyone, but converting early entries into the 22 remains the piece of the puzzle that needs solving. “California’s a good team,” O’Meara added. “They want to hold the ball, and they’re basically saying, we’ll hold it and we’ll get you to a point where you break. I felt like we made them break several times, but then we didn’t finish them.” It is the challenge Coach Cuca and his staff will be addressing one more time as they prepare for the final week of the season.

And here is the thing: Anthem’s season is not over. Results elsewhere could still leave them with a chance of reaching the top four if they can secure a bonus-point victory at Old Glory DC in the final round. “The crazy part of this league is we actually could still make finals,” O’Meara said, allowing himself a half-smile. “We potentially could be going to D.C. with the chance of getting in.” Maughan echoed the sentiment: “The goal is obviously to get the five points. We just want to make sure we perform well, not only for ourselves, but for the fans as well.”

The fans who stayed to the final whistle on Fan Appreciation Day in Charlotte deserved that acknowledgment. They have been outstanding all season, and they saw a team that, for all its frustrations, never stopped fighting. Four tries from four different scorers, a second-half response that would have made any coach proud, and a squad of young players who are learning what professional rugby demands. The results have not matched the effort this season. The effort, though, has never been in question.

Scorers

Anthem RC: Tries – Godfrey (23′), Robb (49′), Pittman (70′), Going (78′). Conversions – Carty 3/4.

California Legion: Tries – Chan (3′), Williams (20′), Semu (26′), Crimp (30′), Bertrano (40′), plus three second-half tries. Conversions – Miln 6/8. Penalty goals – Miln (52′).

Anthem RC A Heaney (E Garza 54′), C Robb (S Smith 62′), C Maughan (vc) (O Kane 52′), J Momsen (c), S Golla (c) (W Sherman 57′), T Tonga’uiha (M Fuala’au 59′), M Alikhan, B Godfrey; K Keane (Z Going 59′), L Carty, E Storti (M Esdale 44′), T Pittman, J Roberts, C Mooneyham (D Akina 66′), J Trainor (vc).

California Legion Ma’ake Muti (D Leaney 40′), B Sugars (J Taufete’e 52′), M Scott (J Tavai 59′), R Murphy (K Nasoqeqe 47′), J Damm (c), L Williams, C Cama, B Houston; G Bertrano (T Smith 57′), C Miln, J Mano (A Lopeti 66′), N Chan (C Smith 52′), C Semu, O Treacy (M Anticev 59′), S Crimp.

Referee Peter Pender. Cards: Yellow – Alikhan (ARC, 27′), Storti (ARC), plus two California yellows. Red – Alikhan (ARC, 2nd yellow).

Match In Numbers

• Possession: Anthem 49%, California 51%
• Carries: Anthem 149, California 141
• Carry distance: Anthem 944m, California 942m
• Meters made: Anthem 568, California 553
• Clean breaks: Anthem 14, California 15
• Defenders beaten: Anthem 26, California 24
• Offloads: 9 each
• Turnovers conceded: Anthem 11, California 6
• Tackles made: Anthem 151, California 156
• Tackle success: Anthem 77%, California 80%
• Scrums won: Anthem 4 (67%), California 4 (100%)
• Lineouts won: Anthem 8/11, California 12/18
• Penalties conceded: Anthem 19, California 10
• Points: Miln 15 (CAL); Crimp 15 (CAL); Going 10 (ARC)