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HERRIMAN — The clock ran out on the Utah Warriors' playoff hopes with a stunning loss Saturday night.
Julian Dominguez scored a hat trick, and Chris Mattina's 2-point conversion kick in second-half stoppage time helped last-place Chicago shock the Utah Warriors 26-24, eliminating the hosts from playoff contention in the home finale at Zions Bank Stadium.
It's the first win for the 2023 expansion Hounds (2-13, 16 points) since a 24-22 victory over similarly woeful Dallas on March 18, and a second-straight loss for Utah (9-6, 45 points) after a 27-20 setback at Seattle. Chicago's win keeps the Hounds in last place in the Western Conference, but 1 point ahead of Toronto for last in the league.
The loss clinched a playoff bid for the Houston SaberCats after their own 31-7 win Friday night over Old Glory DC. The SaberCats (10-5, 53 points) are just 5 points behind second-place Seattle with an outside shot at the No. 2 seed out of the Western Conference with one game remaining.
"It feels great," said Dominguez, the 26-year-old Argentina international. "I feel bad for the Warriors, because they won't go to the playoffs. But I'm very happy for our first away win of the year; that's what matters."
Chris Mattina slots the conversion at 80 minutes to give @HoundsChicago their second win of the season!
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) June 11, 2023
Second half highlights here!
🎥@therugbynetwork | #UTAHvCHI | #MLR2023pic.twitter.com/BIfapRryMe
Chicago opened the scoring and took a 7-0 lead into the first-half hydration break. Thomas Tu'avao responded with a try in the 22nd minute to tie it up, but Dominguez dotted down his second try of the match to give the Hounds a 14-7 lead at the half-hour mark.
Joel Hodgson went untouched from 25 yards out and sprinted in for a try to tie the score at 14-14 to equalize again just before the 40th-minute halftime for Utah.
Hodgson added a 45th-minute penalty conversion to hand the Warriors their first lead at 17-14, but Duke Krishna scored his first try of the season less than two minutes later to put Chicago back in front.
Lance Williams spun off the maul and dotted down his fifth try of the season to give Utah a 24-19 advantage in the 65th minute after the 2-point conversion kick.
Dominguez scored his third try of the night in the dying moments of the match, a hat trick that knocked the Warriors out of the playoffs and clinched the third and final bid from the Western Conference to the MLR Championship Series.
"We were trying to get that fourth try and then, not only do we not get it, but we end up losing the game," Utah coach Greg Cooper told WarriorsRugby.com after the match. "So it's not acceptable.
"It's a game we should have won, but didn't," the first-year Warriors manager added.
Utah wraps up the 2023 season next Saturday, June 18 at the New York Ironworkers. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. MDT on The Rugby Network and KMYU.
