BERKELEY – California rugby downed reigning national champion Army West Point 31-14 on Saturday in the last home match of the regular season on Witter Rugby Field. The Golden Bears now extend to a 10-0 record in spring XVs action.
 
"Army was very good. They are hard young men," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "Overall, I think we did pretty well. Plenty to work on, but that's to be expected."
 
The Black Knights crossed the line first and converted the score to take a 7-0 lead at minute 4. The Bears answered with a try of their own at the 18th minute by Max Threlkeld, and captain Max Schumacher converted to level the score at 7-7. 
 
Cal scored twice more in the first half and prevented Army from adding to its total to secure an advantage at the break. Oliver Newall carried the first score in and Cal Liebowitz pushed another ball in from a maul. Schumacher added the extras on the latter of the two to clinch the 19-7 lead at the intermission. 
 
The Black Knights scored their final try of the day in the 49th minute and converted successfully to kick off second-half action.
 
In the 60th minute, Threlkeld had a big run and offloaded to reserve-replacement Mack Fell. Fell made a pass to Newall on the wing, and Newall touched it down in the corner for his second try of the day. Schumacher logged another successful conversion to add to the scoreline.
 
Ten minutes later, Caleb Tomasin quick tapped and stepped his way in for a try to seal the deal for the Bears. Cal handed Army a 31-14 final score at the expiration of the 80 minutes. In the reserve-grade match that followed, the Bears defeated the Black Knights 24-17.
 
"I think the team made a good step in the right direction for a big upcoming month, and we'll take some very important lessons forward," Threlkeld said. "It felt awesome to win a big game with a great crowd behind us. The boys really wanted it, and I'm proud of our effort."
 
Cal now embarks upon a three-match road swing beginning with a contest against Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, on March 11. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT at the Prusmack Rugby Center.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal vs Army
4:00 – Army 5, Army 2
18:00 – Threlkeld 5, Schumacher 2
32:00 – Newall 5
38:00 – Liebowitz 5, Schumacher 2
Half: Cal 19, Army 7
49:00 – Army 5, Army 2
60:00 – Newall 5, Schumacher 2
70:00 – Tomasin 5
Final: Cal 31, Army 14
 
Starting XV:
1. Emilio Shea 2. Cade Crist 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Tom Dixon 5. Mats Dodd 6. Luke Freeman 7. Cal Liebowitz 8. Alex Aguero 9. Caleb Tomasin 10. Nate Salter 11. Evan Weigold 12. Rand Santos 13. Max Threlkeld 14. Oliver Newall 15. Max Schumacher
 
Substitutions:
52:00 – Matt Vranesh, Ryan Marshall
58:00 – Mack Fell
72:00 – Josh Mao, Clayton Seastrand, Jon Puckett
74:00 – Solomon Williams
 
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