California Golden Bears Athletics
Saturday, April 22
Berkeley, CA
1:00 PM
California
vs
Brigham Young
Cal will face BYU in the national semifinals on Saturday.
Photo by: Kevin Leusing
Cal Hosts BYU In National Semifinals
4/21/2023 12:49 PM | Rugby
BERKELEY – California rugby will host Brigham Young in the national semifinals of the 2023 D1A National Collegiate Championships on Saturday at Witter Rugby Field. The Golden Bears are seeded third in the west region while the Cougars visit Berkeley as the No. 4 seed. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT with the gates in Strawberry Canyon to open at noon. Fans can purchase their tickets here, or can watch the match live on The Rugby Network.
Last time out in the national quarterfinals, the Bears edged Saint Mary's 29-28 in Moraga to advance to the third round of the postseason. Cal was down 21-12 at the half but climbed back from the deficit with an explosive attack and stout defensive performance in the final 40 minutes. Seniors Max Clark and Max Schumacher were the first-half try scorers while freshman Rand Santos and sophomore Kealan O'Connell contributed tries in the second half. Schumacher, a co-captain and Rudy Scholz Award finalist, clinched the victory with a penalty kick in the 74th minute that gave the Bears an eight-point lead. The Gaels closed in on the Bears' advantage with a converted try at minute 78, but were unable to surpass Cal on the final possession as the clock hit zero.
On the other side of the west region bracket, BYU downed top-seeded Central Washington last Saturday to earn a spot in the national semifinals. The Cougars clawed past the Wildcats in a road match, routing them 62-31 by way of 10 tries and six conversions. In the eastern region, Navy took down service academy foe Army while Lindenwood outlasted Life University to advance to the national semifinals.
BYU has put together a 12-2 record in 15-a-side action this season. The Cougars bested Arizona 71-33 in the first round of the playoffs and took a notable 24-23 regular-season victory over Central Washington on March 18. Their two losses came at the hands of Saint Mary's and Life. Cal and BYU most recently met in Provo on March 31 where the Cougars took a 50-14 win over a Bears reserve side. The last time the Cougars visited Berkeley was in February 2022 when the Bears defeated BYU 24-21. Schumacher and fellow co-captain Nathan Zylstra scored tries in addition to Will Shankland, while Nate Salter added the extras on two scores to lift the Bears to the victory in early 2022.
The Bears are expected to return the majority of their starting lineup for the semifinals contest. Leading points-scorer Schumacher will captain the squad and continue in his role as the flyhalf, a position in which he has now made three starting appearances in.
Schumacher's backline should remain unchanged, with Clark, Evan Weigold and Joe Kirsten looking to make their fourth appearance as the deep three. Clark has put up nine tries in the seven matches he has played in, including two in the first round of the playoffs versus Cal Poly and one against Saint Mary's last weekend.
Freshman Cade Crist should also remain the starting hooker following his strong performance against the Gaels with junior prop duo Emilio Shea and Charlie Walsh on either side of him to make up the front row. The back row standout trio of Luke Freeman, Cal Liebowitz and Alex Aguero is also likely to return to the pitch to bolster Cal's defense.
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby).
Last time out in the national quarterfinals, the Bears edged Saint Mary's 29-28 in Moraga to advance to the third round of the postseason. Cal was down 21-12 at the half but climbed back from the deficit with an explosive attack and stout defensive performance in the final 40 minutes. Seniors Max Clark and Max Schumacher were the first-half try scorers while freshman Rand Santos and sophomore Kealan O'Connell contributed tries in the second half. Schumacher, a co-captain and Rudy Scholz Award finalist, clinched the victory with a penalty kick in the 74th minute that gave the Bears an eight-point lead. The Gaels closed in on the Bears' advantage with a converted try at minute 78, but were unable to surpass Cal on the final possession as the clock hit zero.
On the other side of the west region bracket, BYU downed top-seeded Central Washington last Saturday to earn a spot in the national semifinals. The Cougars clawed past the Wildcats in a road match, routing them 62-31 by way of 10 tries and six conversions. In the eastern region, Navy took down service academy foe Army while Lindenwood outlasted Life University to advance to the national semifinals.
BYU has put together a 12-2 record in 15-a-side action this season. The Cougars bested Arizona 71-33 in the first round of the playoffs and took a notable 24-23 regular-season victory over Central Washington on March 18. Their two losses came at the hands of Saint Mary's and Life. Cal and BYU most recently met in Provo on March 31 where the Cougars took a 50-14 win over a Bears reserve side. The last time the Cougars visited Berkeley was in February 2022 when the Bears defeated BYU 24-21. Schumacher and fellow co-captain Nathan Zylstra scored tries in addition to Will Shankland, while Nate Salter added the extras on two scores to lift the Bears to the victory in early 2022.
The Bears are expected to return the majority of their starting lineup for the semifinals contest. Leading points-scorer Schumacher will captain the squad and continue in his role as the flyhalf, a position in which he has now made three starting appearances in.
Schumacher's backline should remain unchanged, with Clark, Evan Weigold and Joe Kirsten looking to make their fourth appearance as the deep three. Clark has put up nine tries in the seven matches he has played in, including two in the first round of the playoffs versus Cal Poly and one against Saint Mary's last weekend.
Freshman Cade Crist should also remain the starting hooker following his strong performance against the Gaels with junior prop duo Emilio Shea and Charlie Walsh on either side of him to make up the front row. The back row standout trio of Luke Freeman, Cal Liebowitz and Alex Aguero is also likely to return to the pitch to bolster Cal's defense.
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby).
Players Mentioned
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Flyhalf
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Hooker/Flanker
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