BERKELEY – Nine Golden Bears scored 10 tries en route to a 62-22 California victory over Army West Point during Saturday's Cal Invitational. The win improves Cal's record against U.S. military academies under head coach Jack Clark to 39-1.
 
"We weren't very good in the first half, but some of that is credited to Army pressuring us into mistakes and turnovers," said Clark. "We were better as the match wore on. It was a really wonderful day of collegiate rugby. We are so appreciative of these three teams for their excellence and leadership of university rugby."
 
The Bears scored first in their match against the Black Knights as junior Sam Golla crossed the try line in the eighth minute. However, Army quickly responded, scoring four minutes later and then again in the 20th minute to pull ahead 12-7. Cal retook the lead before the end of the half as both junior Jack Manzo and senior Sam Cusano scored tries in the 35th and 39th minutes respectively. The Bears never trailed from that point, scoring seven more tries in the second half compared to two from Army.
 
"In the first half, I think we struggled a little bit with communication," said Cusano. "We had more definitive moments in the second half where guys were communicating more, fell off a few less tackles, and kept our structure."
 
Cal will play two matches this upcoming week, hosting their regular season home finale on Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. against Santa Clara. Then, the Bears will travel to Salt Lake City to play University of Utah on Saturday, March 14 at 11:00 a.m. PT.
 
After the varsity contest, Cal defeated Army in the reserve match by the score of 48-26.
 
Scoring Timeline:
 
Cal 62, Army 22
 
8:00 Sam Golla 5, Max Schumacher 2
12:00 Army 5
20:00 Army 5, Army 2
35:00 Jack Manzo 5, Max Schumacher 2
38:00 Sam Cusano 5
Halftime Score: Cal 19, Army 12
44:00 Sam Cusano 5, Max Schumacher 2
48:00 Max Schumacher 5, Max Schumacher 2
55:00 Army 5
59:00 Seth Purdey 5, Max Schumacher 2
65:00 Jason Severance 5
70:00 Army 5
72:00 Keanu Andrade 5
79:00 Ken Kurihara 5
80:00 Marcus Shankland 5, Max Schumacher 2
 
Starters vs Army
1. Damon Wiley 2. Jack Manzo 3. Lone Toailoa 4. Max Murphy 5. Sebastian Bader 6. George Salter 7. Sam Golla 8. Thomas Spradling 9. Henry Poon 10. Seth Purdey 11. Marcus Shankland 12. Keanu Andrade 13. Adam Roeske 14. Sam Cusano 15. Max Schumacher
Substitutions:
31:00 - Jason Severance (Murphy) – Blood Substitution
52:00 – Josh Warnock, Jason Severance (Toailoa, Salter)
60:00 – Ken Kurihara (Purdey)
66:00 – Zach Neff (Murphy) – Blood Substitution
68:00 – Gavin Janis (Sam Cusano)