BERKELEY – California rugby closed out its abbreviated 2021 season on Saturday, outscoring Arizona eight tries to one for a 48-7 victory.
 
"We did pretty well in spurts, putting together some good patches of rugby," head coach Jack Clark said. "We have so much appreciation for the two graduating seniors who started today, Owen [Duvall] and Ken [Kurihara], and it was great to be able to get Garrett [Kay], Kevin [Tuholski] and Oliver [Sharpe] into the match. They all did really well."
 
It didn't take long for the Bears to get on the board as senior scrumhalf Ken Kurihara scored the first try of the game in the fifth minute. Junior flyhalf Sam Walsh followed with a score in the 18th-minute while junior flanker Nathan Zlystra and senior wing Marcus Shankland also collected tries to close out the half with a 22-0 Cal advantage. The Bears lost captain Sam Golla to an injury in the first half and did well to adjust to his absence. It took less than 10 minutes for Cal to score in the second half as junior flanker Jake Broekhuizen put together back-to-back tries just five minutes apart, scoring in the 49th and 54th minutes. Senior outside center Seth Purdey put another try on the scoreboard for the Bears in the 57th-minute before Arizona broke through for its first and only score of the game three minutes later. However, Cal quickly responded in the 64th later with a try from junior lock Max Murphy to close out the game 48-7.
 
"As a team, we wanted to focus on putting one last good performance together to end the season," graduating senior Kurihara said. "Something we spoke about before the game was showing resolve as a team. When things get tough, having the resolve to stay on the job and not drop our intensity."
 
Loosehead prop and fellow senior, Owen Duvall reflected on the emotion of playing his final game at Witter Rugby Field.
 
"Today was definitely bittersweet," Duvall said. "It was pretty sentimental getting to step on this pitch one last time. We definitely have a lot to be grateful for. Getting these three games wasn't easy, but the guys really took it on board, stayed disciplined and didn't allow COVID-19 to creep into the team, so I'm really proud of the boys for how we overcame it."
 
Kurihara shared Duvall's appreciation for being able to play rugby amidst a global pandemic.
 
"As a team, we are all very grateful to have had a season," Kurihara said. "It's all been very abbreviated, but we are very happy to have played some rugby. This year has brought its own unique set of challenges, but I'm very proud of the way we've handled them. The boys showed real resiliency this semester."
 
The Golden Bears will now continue with their studies for the remaining weeks of the semester before returning to prepare for the 2021-22 season with a mostly intact roster.
 
Scoring Timeline:
 
Cal 48, Arizona 7
 
5:00 Ken Kurihara 5
18:00 Sam Walsh 5, Max Schumacher 2
22:00 Nathan Zylstra 5
36:00 Marcus Shankland 5
Halftime Score: Cal 22, Arizona 0
49:00 Jake Broekhuizen 5, Max Schumacher 2
54:00 Jake Broekhuizen 5, Max Schumacher 2
57:00 Seth Purdey 5
60:00 Arizona 5, Arizona 2
64:00 Max Murphy 5, Max Schumacher 2
 
Starters vs Arizona
1. Owen Duvall 2. Jack Manzo 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Sam Golla 5. Max Murphy 6. Jake Broekhuizen 7. Nathan Zylstra 8. Ken Kurihara 9. Sam Walsh 10. Sam Walsh 11. Marcus Shankland 12. Mack Fell 13. Seth Purdey 14. Alex Brundage 15. Max Schumacher
Substitutions:
31:00 – Garrett Kay (Sam Golla)
64:00 – Oliver Sharpe (Alex Brundage)
68:00 – Tom Dixon (Jake Broekhuizen)
71:00 – Max Clark (Marcus Shankland)
72:00 – Kevin Tuholski (Charlie Walsh)
77:00 – Nate Salter (Seth Purdey)
79:00 – Luke Freeman (Nathan Zylsyra)