BERKELEY – California rugby played its first two home matches of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating UC Santa Barbara 66-5 and San Diego Legion Academy U23 120-0.
 
The first contest saw the Bears take down the Gauchos thanks to 10 tries from eight players. Both junior Max Clark and sophomore Dom Paga scored twice while junior Alex Brundage went 8-for-10 on conversions. Cal allowed just one try in the 45th-minute, but quickly responded with five unanswered scores to close out the contest.
 
In the second match, the Bears displayed a relentless attack, jumping out to a 73-0 lead at halftime. Cal continued its scoring efforts in the second half, collecting seven more tries. In total, the Bears amassed 18 tries from 16 players in the victory. Seniors Marcus Shankland and Nick Bloom each collected a pair of scores. Meanwhile, junior Max Schumacher was a perfect 12-for-12 in conversion attempts. Junior Jack Casey converted two tries and Brundage converted another.
 
All in all, Cal scored 28 tries from 23 different players in both matches combined while Clark, Paga, Shankland, Bloom and Brundage each recorded two tries apiece. Brundage was the only Bear to score a try in both contests and he managed conversions in both games as well.

"We appreciate both UC Santa Barbara and the San Diego academy team for making the trip," senior captain Sam Golla said. "The Gauchos had the run of play for some of that match and the academy side never gave in. We played pretty quick in that second match which made it hard on them. The fact they stayed at it is a credit to them."
 
The Bears will return to Witter Rugby Field next weekend when they host California Maritime Academy on February 5 at 1:00 p.m.
 
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby/).
 
Scoring timelines:
 
Cal 66, UC Santa Barbara 5
9:00 - Max Clark 5, Alex Brundage 2
20:00 - Will Shankland 5, Alex Brundage 2
22:00 - Evan Weigold 5, Alex Brundage 2
35:00 - Dom Paga 5
Halftime Score: Cal 26, UC Santa Barbara 0
41:00 - Max Clark 5
45:00 – UCSB 5
48:00 - Dom Paga 5, Alex Brundage 2
57:00 - Josh Mao 5, Alex Brundage 2
62:00 - Alex Brundage 5, Alex Brundage 2
76:00 - Luke Ogburn 5, Alex Brundage 2
80:00 - Alex Aguero 5, Alex Brundage 2
 
Starters vs UC Santa Barbara: 
1. Emilio Shea 2. Matt Vranesh 3. Michael Perrone 4. Matthew Dodd 5. Tom Dixon 6. Dom Paga 7. Luke Ogburn 8. Luke Freeman 9. Max Clark 10. Jack Casey 11. Caleb Tomasin 12. Mack Fell 13. Will Shankland 14. Alex Brundage 15. Evan Weigold 
 
Cal 120, San Diego Legion Academy U23 0
1:00 - Seth Purdey 5, Max Schumacher 2
6:00 - Nathan Zylstra 5, Max Schumacher 2
10:00 - Sam Golla 5, Max Schumacher 2
13:00 - Henry Poon 5
19:00 - Marcus Shankland 5, Max Schumacher 2
22:00 - Nick Bloom 5, Max Schumacher 2
23:00 - Jason Severance 5
28:00 - Jack Manzo 5, Max Schumacher 2
32:00 - Charlie Walsh 5, Max Schumacher 2 
36:00 - Marcus Shankland, Max Schumacher 2 
38:00 - Nate Salter 5, Max Schumacher 2
Halftime Score: Cal 73, San Diego Legion Academy U23 0
41:00 - Kevin Saunders 5, Max Schumacher 2 
43:00 - Nick Bloom 5, Max Schumacher 2 
46:00 - Alex Brundage 5, Max Schumacher 2 
60:00 - Jack Casey 5, Alex Brundage 2
67:00 - Tom Dixon 5
73:00 - Mack Fell 5, Jack Casey 2
78:00 - Tyler Lenk 5, Jack Casey 2
 
Starters vs San Diego Legion Academy U23
1. Clayton Seastrand 2. Jack Manzo 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Sam Golla 5. Max Murphy 6. Jake Broekhuizen 7. Nathan Zylstra 8. Jason Severance 9. Henry Poon 10. Nate Salter 11. Marcus Shankland 12. Kevin Saunders 13. Seth Purdey 14. Nick Bloom 15. Max Schumacher