Jan. 17, 2007

BERKELEY - The Bears ensured they did not look past UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday night, persevering through tentative play and freezing temperatures to come away with a shutout on the shoulders of a starting Cal lineup featuring eight freshmen.

Behind the feel-good storyline of newcomers making their first foray into match play for the Golden Bears, Cal found itself for a good portion of the evening one mistake away from falling behind to a determined Santa Cruz side. The ice was broken on a scoreless tie five minutes before halftime, when freshman flanker Tom Rooke found the try zone to finish a four-phase sequence.

The visitors' determination set the bar higher than Cal seemed willing to go at times on Wednesday. "Fitness helps every aspect of the game," said Santa Cruz head coach Robbie Bellue. "Every year we get a little closer, and hopefully someday we'll come up with a W. We always talk about setting the bar, and Cal is the bar for the nation."

The Bears seemed to wait for Santa Cruz to come to them on defense, with the result being a first-half territorial disadvantage for Cal. Head coach Jack Clark may have offered some pointed advice to light a fire under his side at halftime. Fullback Sean Gallinger upped Cal's lead to 8-0 on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute and the Bears never looked back.

Freshman Lucas Watson made his Cal debut at minute 54 and found himself lined up next to his brother, Dustin. "I was really nervous coming into my first game with my parents watching, so I just tried to play my best," Lucas said. The freshman's butterflies had no time to take effect--one minute later, Lucas took a switch pass from Logan Howard and scored his first try as a Bear.

"It was really good to see him come into my position and tear it up. I'm proud of him," said Dustin, who shifted from outside to inside center to welcome his brother into the back line.

Another second-half contributor was sophomore Eduardo Lopez, who powered through Santa Cruz defenders for a 35-meter carry to set up the final try of the day by Jay Smith. "Santa Cruz played really tough, but I was proud of our XV," Lopez said.

Cal journeys to Los Angeles for the second annual UCLA Tournament this weekend. The Bears are slated to play four matches on Saturday: Oregon at 8 a.m., USC at 9:40 a.m., Washington State at 11:30 a.m. and Arizona at 3:10 p.m. Cal returns home on Jan. 27 to host UC Davis as league play gets underway.

The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Santa Cruz:

35:00 Tom Rooke 5

Half Time: California 5, UC Santa Cruz 0

53:00 Sean Gallinger 3

55:00 Lucas Watson 5, Sean Gallinger 2

71:00 Jay Smith 5, Sean Gallinger 2

Final Score: California 22, UC Santa Cruz 0

The Team vs. UC Santa Cruz:

15. Gallinger, 14. Muhn, 13. D. Watson (L. Watson @ 54:00), 12. Busch (D. Watson @ 54:00), 11. Leach (Lopez @ 40:00), 10. Howard, 9. Mase ©, 1. Strack (Estrella @ 40:00), 2. King, 3. Rutkowski, 4. Vaught, 5. Cross (Smith @ 70:00), 6. Rooke, 7. Asbun (Strong @ 47:00), 8. Law