BERKELEY – California rugby put up a dominant 47-24 win over reigning national champion and top ranked Navy, handing the Midshipmen their first loss of the season. The Golden Bears scored seven tries and two penalty kicks whilst holding Navy to only three tries and one penalty kick.
 
"We appreciate the Navy team, they have been on a significant run of well-earned victories and success. They are a well put together team," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "I loved how determined our boys were today. We took our share of the lumps, but we fronted the challenge."  
 
The Bears and the Mids traded possession over the first 10 minutes with neither team lighting up the scoreboard. Cal was on the attack and worked its way to five meters out from the goal-line. The forwards grinded out a couple of attacking phases before scrumhalf Solomon Williams swung it out to Joe Kirsten on the right wing who shot right into the tryzone with a score for the Bears. Kealan O'Connell converted to make it 7-0 and give Cal a lead it would never relinquish.  
 
Williams added his name to the scoresheet just five minutes later when he stepped his way past a few Navy defenders for the Bears' second try of the day, and O'Connell added the extras. A few minutes later, the Bears then were awarded a penalty and opted for points off a penalty kick conversion to make it 17-0 in favor of Cal.
 
Eight minutes passed before the next scoring phase when Bears won an attacking lineout and Williams received the ball from Cal's jumper. He spotted a small gap between the Navy defense and took off running for Mids territory. He made it well past the 22-meter mark and offloaded to a supporting Hugo Schreuder who carried it in for a try, which O'Connell converted.
 
Navy was on the attack after the restart and worked its way to the goal-line, but Cal's stout defense held the Mids up to deny them a try. The two teams traded possession for the rest of the half, before Navy dotted down its first score of the day, and converted successfully to make it 24-7 at the intermission.
 
After the break, Navy made its way into scoring position and tried to pick-and-jam its way in for another score, but Cal's defense remained solid and denied the Mids another try at the goal-line. A few minutes later, Navy was back in the Bears' territory and scored a converted try to begin closing the gap.
 
After the restart, Cal was awarded another penalty and took points off O'Connell's boot. He sent the ball sailing between the posts to extend the Bears' lead. Navy put up a converted penalty kick a few minutes later, but the Bears answered quickly with Mack Fell finding the tryzone and dotting down another Cal score.
 
The Bears then scored two tries within two minutes, first sending the ball into the tryzone in the arms of Evan Weigold on the left wing. After the restart, the Bears recovered the ball and swung it out to Kirsten on the right side. He turned on the jets and outran the Navy defenders to carry in his second try of the day.
 
Navy managed to collect one more converted try at the 76 minute mark, but Cal had the last word with Oliver Newall finding space and outrunning all of Navy's defenders to carry in one more try for the Bears. With its win today, Cal improves to 10-2 on the season.
 
In the reserve-grade match contested prior, Cal's squad beat the Saint Mary's reserves 73-29.
 
UP NEXT
Cal heads to Moraga next weekend for a matchup with Saint Mary's on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and the match will be aired live on The Rugby Network.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal vs. Navy
12:00 – Joe Kirsten 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
17:00 – Solomon Williams 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
20:00 – Kealan O'Connell 3
28:00 – Hugo Schreuder 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
40:00 – Navy 5, Navy 2
Half: Cal 24, Navy 7
49:00 – Navy 5, Navy 2
55:00 – Kealan O'Connell 3
59:00 – Navy 3
62:00 – Mack Fell 5
72:00 – Evan Weigold 5
74:00 – Joe Kirsten 5
76:00 – Navy 5, Navy 2
78:00 – Oliver Newall 5
Final: Cal 47, Navy 24
 
Starting XV:
1. Emilio Shea 2. Cade Crist 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Pat Deely 5. Tom Dixon 6. Hugo Schreuder 7. Bryan Bogne 8. Alex Aguero 9. Solomon Williams 10. Rand Santos 11. Evan Weigold 12. Max Threlkeld 13. Will Shankland 14. Joe Kirsten 15. Kealan O'Connell
 
Substitutions:
Mack Fell (17:00), Oliver Newall (32:00), Dom Paga (Half), Brett Dowgiewicz (50:00), Clayton Seastrand (70:0), Caleb Tomasin 73:00)