Season Comes To An End In DC

Saturday, June 6 2026, 4:00pm ET – George Mason Stadium – Fairfax, VA – Written by Dan Brooks

For 30 minutes on a hot afternoon in Fairfax, Anthem Rugby Carolina led a rugby match for the first time since early April, and the silence inside George Mason Stadium told you everything about how unexpected it was. This was supposed to be a formality for Old Glory DC, a team chasing a playoff spot against an opponent who had lost seven of their nine matches. Instead, it became the most compelling 80 minutes of Anthem’s season, a match that encapsulated everything this young squad has learned, everything they still need to work on, and the unmistakable trajectory of a program that is heading in the right direction.

The opening 20 minutes belonged entirely to DC. Ben Bonasso powered over from close range inside two minutes after Anthem conceded a soft penalty from the kickoff, and Jason Robertson added an unconverted try on 17 minutes as the home side controlled territory and possession with the kind of patient, multi-phase rugby that comes from three years of playing together under the same coaching setup. DC were stringing multiple phases together, probing the edges, recycling cleanly, and asking questions of an Anthem defense that was bending but, crucially, not breaking. A further DC try was disallowed after review when officials spotted a high clearout on Elias Garza, the young loosehead making his first start of the season. It was a significant reprieve at 12-0, and Anthem seized it.

What followed was the most sustained period of attacking pressure Anthem produced all season. For the best part of 10 minutes, they camped inside the DC 22, going through phase after phase, the forwards carrying hard and direct, the backs probing for gaps. Baden Godfrey, who finished with 86 meters in carry distance, was at the heart of it, along with Marques Fualaau and Will Sherman. Twice Anthem were held up over the line. Twice they went again. When Dominic Akina finally spun out of contact and dotted down on 31 minutes, it was the least the effort deserved. Akina, who led all players on the day with 109 meters in carry distance, has been a revelation since arriving from Houston, and his try gave the traveling support something to cheer about at 12-7. Luke Carty’s conversion was precise.

The first half ended on a sour note. John LeFevre, DC’s scrumhalf, spotted a gap from the base of a scrum on 39 minutes and backed his pace, racing clear of the Anthem defense on a solo run that was as clinical as it was unexpected. Robertson converted, and at 19-7 the halftime deficit was larger than Anthem’s second-quarter dominance had warranted. It was the kind of individual moment of quality that can deflate a young team, and it would have been easy to let the heads drop.

They did the opposite. Anthem came out for the second half determined to build on the momentum they had generated, and the response was immediate. DC’s discipline, which had been creaking under the pressure of Anthem’s forward carries, finally gave way when Tevita Naqali was shown a yellow card on 47 minutes for repeated infringements. Seth Smith, the replacement hooker with the unmistakable blonde braids who had come on at the break for Campbell Robb, was the man to capitalize. A clean lineout, a well-organized driving maul, and Smith collapsed over the line from close range. Carty converted, 19-14, and the crowd could feel the shift.

Twelve minutes later, Anthem had the lead. The try that gave it to them will live long in the memory. Jordan Trainor, who finished with three offloads and was a constant threat in the wide channels, linked beautifully with Tom Pittman, and the ball was moved through hands to Erich Storti on the right wing. Storti, who had come on as a replacement for Conner Mooneyham just three minutes earlier, took the ball at pace, held off the covering tackle, and somehow got the ball down in the corner before being bundled toward touch. The referee went to review, the stadium held its breath, and the decision came back: try. Carty’s conversion from way out on the touchline was perfection, curling through the uprights and giving Anthem a 21-19 lead. It was their first lead in a match since the Week 3 victory over Seattle, over two months earlier.

For the next 12 minutes, Anthem defended that lead with everything they had. Fualaau was immense at the breakdown, Sherman carried with purpose, and the defensive line held its shape in a way that would have pleased Coach Cuca enormously. But DC’s experience and the quality of their spine eventually told. Robertson, the flyhalf who finished with 14 points on the afternoon, chipped through on 73 minutes and Perry Humphreys won the foot race to the ball, touching down to make it 24-21 after Robertson’s conversion. A Robertson penalty on 78 minutes stretched the lead to 29-21, and while Anthem threw everything at the final minutes, the clock was against them.

The closing stages still produced moments worth celebrating. Jeron Pantor came off the bench on 76 minutes for his MLR debut, and Matt Carrion, who had spent time with the Free Jacks last season, made his Anthem debut at 67 minutes in place of Godfrey. Both are part of the next wave of talent Coach Cuca is developing, and giving them minutes in the final match of the season was a statement about the program’s priorities.

The statistics reinforced just how competitive Anthem were. They made more carries (125 to 110), covered significantly more carry distance (675 meters to 562), beat more defenders (21 to 18), produced more offloads (8 to 3), and made more passes (156 to 134). The scrum was back to its dominant best at 100%, and the lineout functioned well with 15 from 17. Perhaps most encouragingly, Anthem conceded zero yellow cards and zero red cards for the first time in weeks, a marked improvement in the discipline that had been their Achilles heel. The penalty count was level at nine apiece, a world away from the 19 conceded against California the week before.

“We are playing for our pride,” Coach Cuca had said before the match. “For a game that will probably be the last game that all of this group plays together.” That pride was evident in every carry, every tackle, every phase of play in the second half. Akina, Pittman, Godfrey, Sherman, Trainor, Fualaau, and the rest put in performances that demonstrated how far this squad has come since that first win in California back in Week 1. The results across the season have not always matched the effort, but on a sweltering afternoon in Fairfax, when the scoreboard read 21-19 in their favor and the home crowd had gone quiet, this team showed exactly what it is capable of.

Scorers

Old Glory DC: Tries – Bonasso (2′), Robertson (17′), LeFevre (39′), Humphreys (73′). Conversions – Robertson (3′, 40′, 74′). Penalty goals – Robertson (78′).

Anthem RC: Tries – Akina (31′), Smith (48′), Storti (60′). Conversions – Carty (32′, 49′, 61′).

Anthem RC E Garza (A Hernandez 55′), C Robb (S Smith 40′), O Kane (C Maughan 40′), W Sherman, J Momsen (c), T Tonga’uiha (A Martinez Tapia 40′), M Fualaau, B Godfrey (M Carrion 67′); I Safodien (Z Going 40′), L Carty, J Roberts, T Pittman, D Akina (J Pantor 76′), C Mooneyham (E Storti 57′), J Trainor (vc).

Old Glory DC (front row/hooker not visible) R Harley (c) (R Rose 50′), T Naqali (B Vermeulen 50′), C Daniel (C Grosse 72′), A King, B Bonasso; J LeFevre (A Ridgway 64′), J Robertson, J Rizzo (J Powers 71′), (unknown) (J Jackson), R Depperschmidt, D Hoyland, P Humphreys. Replacements also: C Robinson (57′), C Devos (57′), M Schumacher (78′).

Referee Federico Anselmi. Cards: Yellow – Naqali (DC, 47′).

Match In Numbers

• Carries: Anthem 125, DC 110
• Carry distance: Anthem 675m, DC 562m
• Meters made: Anthem 338, DC 268
• Clean breaks: Anthem 3, DC 4
• Defenders beaten: Anthem 21, DC 18
• Offloads: Anthem 8, DC 3
• Turnovers conceded: Anthem 15, DC 13
• Tackles made: DC 161, Anthem 138
• Tackle success: Anthem 86%, DC 82%
• Scrums won: Anthem 6 (100%), DC 8 (100%)
• Lineouts won: Anthem 15/17, DC 16/18
• Mauls won: DC 8 (100%), Anthem 5 (100%)
• Penalties conceded: 9 each
• Points: Robertson 14 (DC); Carty 6 (ARC); Bonasso 5 (DC)
• Carry distance leaders: Akina 109m (ARC); Pittman 92m (ARC); Godfrey 86m (ARC)