LOS ANGELES - The No. 2 Golden Bears dominated possession and field position but had to play through an opposition side that kept coming in California's18-12 road win Saturday over No. 7 UCLA.
Tries by Scott Walsh and Andrew Battaglia augmented by two penalty kicks from Jake Anderson kept the Bruins at bay on North Athletic Field, where Cal (9-1, 3-0 PAC) never trailed in the contest. The Bears, however, did find themselves in an 80-minute muckout against a UCLA team (6-3, 1-2 PAC) that gave Cal ample defensive pressure to worsen headaches caused the Blue and Gold's own errors.
Despite being drawn in a dirtier day at the office that Cal might have liked in this PAC Rugby Conference matchup, the Bears managed to avoid penalties better than the Bruins and commit fewer turnovers than their Los Angeles counterparts.
"Cal's always been the standard that we try to emulate and build our program toward being in these games, and today that was our opportunity," says Bruins head coach Scott Stewart.
UCLA center Race Noeldner intercepted a Russell Webb pass and turned it into a 75-meter try-scoring run in the 63rd minute and forward Zach Bonte added the other second-half try, the former converted by Ben Francis. Thus tested, Cal kept its composure to earn one last penalty that Anderson slotted from 37 meters for the final points of the match as time ran out.
"We kind of let off in the second half," Anderson (1-of-2 conversions, 2-of-3 penalties). "We're going to have to pick it up for a big opportunity next weekend."
In the reserve-grade contest, Cal defeated UCLA, 96-0.
The conference standings remain unchanged followed Saturday's result, which was the only action in the PAC this weekend. Cal stays in in first place, the Bruins remain third and the Bears' opponent for next weekend's Homecoming, Utah, sits in second.
The Utes visit Witter Rugby Field on Saturday, Feb. 28, for a 1 p.m. kickoff as Homecoming calls back generations of Rugby Bears to reunite in Strawberry Canyon and rally for the Blue and Gold.
Before Homecoming, a largely frosh-soph side will play for its University in a midweek match under the lights when the Bears host California Maritime Academy Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. on Witter Rugby field.
The Scoring Timeline vs. UCLA
06:00 Scott Walsh 5, Jake Anderson 2
34:00 Jake Anderson 3
40:00 Andrew Battaglia 5
Halftime Score: California 15, UCLA 0
63:00 UCLA (Race Noeldner) 5, (Ben Francis) 2
70:00 UCLA (Zach Bonte) 5
80:00 Jake Anderson 3
Final Score: California 18, UCLA 12
The Team vs. UCLA:
15. Anderson, 14. Battaglia, 13. Adolphus (Milne @ 66:00), 12. Barrientes (Okusi @ 66:00), 11. Honens, 10. Webb (Adolphus @ 66:00), 9. Boyer (Bosco @ 53:00), 1. Walsh, 2. Bush, 3. Vrame, 4. Kondrat, 5. Hendrickson, 6. Tandy (Gaffney @ 58:00), 7. N. Salaber, 8. Sweet
