BERKELEY – The Golden Bears took a hard-fought match, 50-41, over Army to win the Cal Invitational under sunny skies Sunday on Witter Rugby Field. Eight different Golden Bears scored tries as California improved its record against U.S. Military Academies to 37-1 under head coach Jack Clark.
 
"It was a really tough match," coach Clark said. "We would expect no less from the United States Military Academy."
 
In the consolation match, UCLA defeated Claremont Colleges, 31-24.
 
Cal (17-1, 4-0 PAC), whose eight tries were split evenly between forwards and backs, found itself in a physical bout with the Black Knights (8-3, 4-2 East). The Bears jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Army scored three straight tries. The teams then traded two more scores to send Cal into the break up, 24-22.
 
In the second half, a try by Army hooker Ryan Moshak scored while Cal had only 13 players on the field gave the Black Knights a brief lead at 29-24 before three straight tries by the Blue and Gold allowed the Bears some breathing room. A late try by Army's Paul Adams was answered when the Bears stole a defensive lineout about 10 meters from the Army try line and center Christian Dyer finished the ensuing sequence with an insurance try.
 
Among the starters for the Bears was flyhalf Troy Lockyear, who made his return back to the pitch for the first time since a season-ending injury last spring. "It was amazing being back and playing on this field," Lockyear said. "There was such a great atmosphere, definitely exciting to be back on the field after some time away."
 
"Good experience, great crowd," added prop Kevin Sullivan.
 
"They brought their shoulders today," said captain Thomas Robles of the Black Knights. "Luckily we were able to match their physical will and come out on top."
 
"It was a lot of fun being back. I was able to see a lot of great friends," said Army head coach Matt Sherman, a former U.S. National Team player and Cal co-captain, All-American and 2002 national champion under Jack Clark as a player, as well as an assistant coach for Clark on the 2008 national collegiate champion Cal team who is now in his third year at the helm at West Point. "We played with a lot of velocity, a lot of aggression, but our precision lacked and that was the difference in the game. But we'll build on those first two things, work on the precision, and we'll get better."
 
"Army's rugby was good and they came to play," said Clark. "These are the types of matches that develop teams and players."
 
Next up for the Bears is a trip to Salt Lake City, where Cal will face Utah in a PAC Rugby Conference contest on Saturday, March 17, at 1 p.m. MT. Cal will next play at home on Saturday, March 24, vs. Dartmouth at 1 p.m.
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. Army
 
05:00 Aidan Flynn 5
 
10:00 Aisea Tongilava 5, Christian Dyer 2
 
14:00 Damon Wiley 5
 
17:00 Army (Matt Meehan) 5
 
20:00 Army (Ryan Moshak) 5
 
30:00 Army (Jack Lachina) 5
 
35:00 Keanu Andrade 5, Christian Dyer 2
 
40:00 (Army) 5, 2
 
Halftime Score: California 24, Army 22
 
47:00 Army (Ryan Moshak) 5, (John Kim) 2
 
50:00 Nic Mirhashem 5, Jaime Howells 2
 
58:00 Kevin Sullivan 5, Jaime Howells 2
 
64:00 Thomas Robles 5, Jaime Howells 2
 
66:00 Army (Andrew Zagula) 5
 
75:00 Army (Paul Adams) 5, John Kim 2
 
77:00 Christian Dyer 5
 
Final Score: California 50, Army 41
 
The Team vs. Army
15. Flynn, 14. Cusano, 13. Dyer, 12. Tongilava (Purdey @ 49:00), 11. Goena (Dunn @ 60:00, 10. Lockyear (Howells @ 44:00), 9. Andrade (Kurihara @ 62:00), 1. Sullivan, 2. Ogburn (Iscaro @ 68:00), 3. Wiley, 4. Salter, 5. Bader, 6. Spradling, 7. Mirhashem, 8. Robles