Goleta, Calif. – Cal rugby defeated UC Santa Barbara in Goleta at Harder Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bears logged 17 tries and added the extras on all but two, whilst only allowing one score by the Gauchos.
 
"First, no one wants a bad scoreline, but that was a pretty hard hitting rugby match," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "Santa Barbara slugged it out pretty darn well. I know our boys got knocked down a bunch. What a picturesque day, on a great campus, with a game of rugby."
 
Cal's seniors dominated the scoresheet in the first half of the match, collecting 8-of-9 tries scored by the Bears. Alex Brundage kicked off the scoring with a try in the second minute on his way to playing all 80 minutes of the match.
 
Max Clark then contributed back-to-back scores in minutes six and 10. Cal Liebowtiz and Nate Salter each added tries next before co-captains Nathan Zylstra and Max Schumacher tallied two more.
 
Max Threlkeld was the lone freshman to cross the try-line in the first half when he ran a ball in at the 38 minute mark. Zylstra added another score in the 40th minute and Schumacher went 8-for-9 on conversion attempts to give the Bears a 61-0 advantage at the intermission.
 
Cal's strong run game persisted in the second half with reserve replacement Evan Weigold touching down two minutes in. Threlkeld had a big breakaway run and added his second try of the day in minute 46. Kealan O'Connell scored a pair of tries within two minutes of each other before Weigold clinched his second score of the day in minute 59.
 
UCSB ran a try in at the 63rd minute but missed the conversion attempt to put five points on the board. The Bears answered back with another three tries by Michal De Beer, O'Connell, and Lance Hackett. Schumacher added the extras on the first four scores of the second half and O'Connell went 3-for-4 on conversions in the period to lift the final score to 115-5.
 
Cal now embarks upon a five-fixture stretch at home, with Grand Canyon its first opponent on February 4. Kickoff against the Lopes will be at 1 p.m. at Witter Rugby Field.
 
Scoring Timeline:
 
Cal vs UCSB
2:00 – Brundage 5
6:00 – Clark 5, Schumacher 2
10:00 – Clark 5, Schumacher 2
13:00 – Liebowitz 5, Schumacher 2
17:00 – Salter 5, Schumacher 2
24:00 – Schumacher 5, Schumacher 2
29:00 – Zylstra 5, Schumacher 2
38:00 – Threlkeld 5, Schumacher 2
40:00 – Zylstra 5, Schumacher 2
Half: 61-0
42:00 – Weigold 5, Schumacher 2
46:00 – Threlkeld 5, Schumacher 2
51:00 – O'Connell 5, Schumacher 2
53:00 – O'Connell 5, Schumacher 2
59:00 – Weigold 5, O'Connell 2
63:00 – UCSB 5
67:00 – De Beer 5
72:00 – O'Connell 5, O'Connell 2
78:00 – Hackett 5, O'Connell 2
Final: 115-5
 
Starting XV:
1. Emilio Shea 2. Matt Vranesh 3. Clayton Seastrand 4. Miles Malone 5. Tom Dixon 6. Cal Liebowitz 7. Nathan Zylstra 8. Alex Aguero 9. Caleb Tomasin 10. Nate Salter 11. Max Clark 12. Max Threlkeld 13. Will Shankland 14. Alex Brundage 15. Max Schumacher
 
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