WEST POINT, N.Y. – California rugby fell to Army West Point 27-14 in its final road match of a four-game away series. The Golden Bears put up a pair of tries under the cold, rainy and muddy east coast conditions of the Anderson Rugby Complex, but were bested by the Black Knights in the end.
 
"Congratulations to Army, they were the better team today," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "No team can win big matches with the amount of penalties and turnovers we had today. We'll just keep working to improve our rugby."
 
Army took an early lead in the contest, opting to take points off their fullback's boot with a penalty kick just four minutes in. The Black Knights extended their lead at the eleventh minute when they snagged the ball and managed a gap to get within striking territory. Army set up a maul and pushed its way to the goal-line before picking it forward for the try, which was then converted.
 
Cal was on the attack and threatened Army territory after the restart, creating lots of opportunities to score with the Black Knights' backs up against their own tryzone. Penalties set the Bears back, but they continued to grind out strong attacking phases. Their efforts came to fruition at minute 28 when junior Joe Kirsten had a good run to carry it just a few meters out from the tryzone. Sophomore Solomon Williams was there to support when it came loose, chipped it forward and then chased it down at top speed. Williams beat a couple of defenders to the goal-line to recover it, dotting down Cal's first try of the contest. Junior Kealan O'Connell added the extras to close the gap to 10-7.
 
Before the end of the half, Army managed to set up an attacking lineout not far from the goal-line. Army's hooker hit his jumper and the forwards went to work, mauling it all the way in to score a try that was converted. It was 17-7 in favor of the Black Knights at the intermission.
 
Cal came back from the break firing and was quick to put points on the board to start off the second period. The Bears kicked it into Army territory and Kirsten chased it down, hitting the Black Knights' receiver and knocking the ball loose. Kirsten recovered it and offloaded to a trailing sophomore Max Threlkeld, who stepped past a couple of Army defenders to carry in the Bears' second try of the day. O'Connell successfully converted to narrow the gap to only three points.
 
The Bears were on the hunt and had a good share of the possession in the second half, but penalties and turnovers continued to stymie Cal's attack. Army was awarded another opportunity to go for a penalty kick, which it converted on to extend its advantage. The Black Knights managed to collect one more converted try before the 80 minutes expired, outlasting the Bears to hand them Cal's second loss of the season.
 
UP NEXT
Cal will return to Witter Rugby Field on March 16 for the Bears' homecoming/national champions reunion celebration, highlighted by a clash with Navy at 12 p.m.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal vs Army
4:00 – Army 3
11:00 – Army 5, Army 2
28:00 – Solomon Williams 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
33:00 – Army 5, Army 2
Half: Army 17, Cal 7
46:00 – Max Threlkeld 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
53:00 – Army 3
57:00 – Army 5, Army 2
Final: Army 27, Cal 14
 
Starting XV:
1. Emilio Shea 2. Cade Crist 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Pat Deely 5. Miles Malone 6. Hugo Schreuder 7. Jon Puckett 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:
Clayton Seastrand (56:00), Caleb Tomasin (66:00), Oliver Newall (67:00)
 
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