BERKELEY – It was a back-and-forth affair at Witter Rugby Field on Saturday afternoon, but the Bears outlasted Brigham Young 24-21.
 
"I'm really proud of our guys for staying at it," head coach Jack Clark said. We were impressed with BYU; they're a really good side. It was a hard game of rugby and we are appreciative for the battle."
 
Cal kept the Cougars on their heels in their own territory for the opening 20 minutes of the match and junior Max Schumacher managed to push Cal's first try across in the 21st minute. However, a quick turnover after the ensuing kickoff allowed BYU to get on the board just three minutes later and a conversion put the Cougars on top 7-5. The Bears responded with two more tries to close out to half, heading to the break with a 10-point, 17-7 lead.
 
Ten minutes into the second half, BYU struck again with a converted try to pull within three points (17-14). Then, the Cougars managed to take the lead for the second time in the 64th-minute, pulling ahead 21-17 thanks to another try and successful conversion attempt. Cal went on the attack for the remaining six minutes of the match, trying to force its way back from behind to regain the lead. Then, with less than a minute remaining and just meters from the try line, senior Nick Bloom managed to break away to score what proved to be the game winner. Moments later, junior Nate Salter put his conversion attempt through the sticks to give Cal the final score of 24-21.
 
Four Bears scored tries in the contest, including Schumacher, Bloom, sophomore Will Shankland and senior Nathan Zylstra.
 
"The match was aggressive today," senior captain Sam Golla said. "BYU was class. They were low and they made their tackles. We knew we had to double down on our focus, stay calm, stay collected and continue to make our tackles. That was our plan from the get-go. We knew we had to make a change after we were down: grind, continue to work them down with our pace and hold onto the ball. We fell off a couple of times, but we stuck with it which allowed us to score in the final minute."
 
A post-match reception was held for several hundred rugby alumni with remarks from Athletics Director Jim Knowlton, head coach Jack Clark and chairman of the Cal Rugby Advisory Board Bud Lyons.
 
Cal will now prepare for its next matchup against UCLA. The Bears will head to Westwood next weekend to face the Bruins on Saturday, March 5 at 1pm.
 
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby/).
 
Scoring timeline
 
Cal 24, BYU 21
 
21:00 – Max Schumacher 5
24:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2 
33:00 – Will Shankland 5, Nate Salter 2 
38:00 – Nathan Zylstra 5 
Halftime Score: Cal 17, BYU 7 
50:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2 
64:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2 
80:00 – Nick Bloom 5, Nate Salter 2 
 
Starters vs. BYU: 
1. Charlie Walsh 2. Nathan Zylstra 3. Jack Manzo 4. Sam Golla 5. Max Murphy 6. Jake Broekhuizen 7. Luke Ogburn 8. Luke Freeman 9. Jack Gallagher 10. Nate Salter 11. Alex Aguero 12. Seth Purdey 13. Will Shankland 14. Nick Bloom 15. Max Schumacher 
 
Substitutions:
40:00 – Matt Vranesh 
47:00 – Kevin Saunders 
64:00 – Max Clark 
71:00 – Tom Dixon 
79:00 – Emilio Shea