The Mystics dug deep on Saturday evening as they overcame a 14 point deficit in the second half to claim a last-minute 25-24 win over the Kansas City Blues. The Mystics move on to the National DI Semi-Final against NYAC at 4pm on Sunday afternoon, and will be looking to book their tickets to the National DI Final in Colorado.
The first half of the match saw very little scoring, as the Mystics drew first blood with a penalty from Mike Armstrong to take a 3-0 lead. The Blues hit back with a converted try off a chip kick to take a 7-3 lead, but the a try from Nate Fox on the wing saw the Mystics take a 10-7 lead into half time. The Blues came out firing in the second half, and converted a Mystic turnover into an unconverted try to retake the lead 12-10. The Blues capitalized on a bad lineout to score another try to extend their lead to 17-10, before another Mystic error allowed them to score a converted try and extend their lead to 24-10.
The Mystics started to fight back as the game went into the final quarter, and were assisted by a yellow card to a Blues player. Luke Schlotman scored as a result of the associated penalty, and moved the Mystics closer at 15-24. The Mystics kept up the pressure, and Mike Armstrong slotted a crucial penalty with 8 minutes left to play, cutting the deficit to only 6 points at 18-24. With time running out, Evin O’Driscoll cut through the weak side defense to leave the Mystics one point behind, and Mike Armstrong managed to slide the conversion through to take the Mystics to the Final Four match on Sunday afternoon.