Saturday, March 23
Moraga, CA
1:00 PM
California
at
Saint Mary's (California)
Cal closes out regular season on the road.
Photo by: Justine Willard / KLC Fotos
3/22/2024 1:15 PM | Rugby
No. 7 Cal, No. 3 Saint Mary’s Face Off Saturday
BERKELEY – California rugby heads through the tunnel to Moraga to face the Saint Mary's Gaels on Saturday in the final match of the regular season. The Golden Bears and the Gaels will kick off at 1p.m. PST at Saint Mary's Stadium, and the contest will be aired live on The Rugby Network.
The Bears (10-2) are coming off a dominant 47-24 win over reigning national champion and top-ranked Navy last weekend. Cal put up seven tries by six different players, including two by Cal's leading try scorer, Joe Kirsten, while leading points scorer Kealan O'Connell had a pair of penalty kicks. Cal's stout defense held the Midshipmen to three tries and one penalty kick to hand Navy its first loss in D1A competition since 2022.
Saint Mary's has put together a 14-1 record this season, most recently coming off a 38-21 win over Brigham Young in Provo last weekend. The Gaels have also collected notable wins over Arizona (48-15), UCLA (58-5) and a narrow 27-26 victory over Central Washington.
Cal and Saint Mary's met twice last year, most recently in Moraga on April 15, 2023 in the D1A national quarterfinals. The Bears edged the Gaels 29-28 to advance to the semifinals, in which they would go on to defeat BYU to punch their ticket to the title match against Navy. The Gaels pulled ahead in the contest with back-to-back tries to open up the day's scoring, taking a 21-12 lead into halftime, but the Bears stormed back with a dominant second half performance putting up 17-straight points and hold the Gaels to one converted try in the second period to clinch the victory.
The Bears and the Gaels also contested a regular-season match on March 25, 2023 in Berkeley. The Gaels held the first advantage in the contest, taking a 26-19 lead into the halftime break. The Bears fought back with a strong offensive push to create a 34-26 lead midway through the second period. Saint Mary's put up two tries to reclaim the lead at minute 66, and held onto the advantage for a scoreless final 14 minutes of the match to secure the win.
This weekend, the Bears will be without several starters who have been ruled unavailable due to injury. Sophomore sensation Max Threlkeld was transported from the field during last weekend's match due to a head collision and will remain out indefinitely. Also leaving with injury against Navy was co-captain Will Shankland. Senior second rower Pat Deely will be out and starting flanker Jon Puckett will remain unavailable for the second-straight game. The Bears are hopeful to get Hugo Schreuder back into the forward pack, but his status is uncertain.
Senior co-captains Charlie Walsh and Alex Aguero will continue to lead the forward pack, which will look to build upon its strong performance against the Mids. Cal's forwards denied the Mids two tries on the goal-line and were solid in the scrum to put up an impressive defensive show. They also created opportunity in the Bears' attack, grinding out phases inside the 5-meter line before sending the ball out to the backs to carry in a couple of scores.
Sophomore standouts Solomon Williams and Rand Santos are likely to feature in the midfield as the scrumhalf and flyhalf, respectively, for the sixth time this season. In the backs, Evan Weigold and Kirsten – who were both try scorers against Navy – are anticipated to feature as wingers. Kirsten leads the Bears with his 10 tries this season, while Weigold has dotted down six.
"We're looking forward to playing another tough opposition this Saturday," Walsh said. "These back-to-back high-level games present the great challenge of performing at a consistent level. We've been working hard this week to improve, and can't wait to play this weekend."
The Bears and the Gaels will also contest a reserve-grade contest immediately following the varsity match.
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby).
The Bears (10-2) are coming off a dominant 47-24 win over reigning national champion and top-ranked Navy last weekend. Cal put up seven tries by six different players, including two by Cal's leading try scorer, Joe Kirsten, while leading points scorer Kealan O'Connell had a pair of penalty kicks. Cal's stout defense held the Midshipmen to three tries and one penalty kick to hand Navy its first loss in D1A competition since 2022.
Saint Mary's has put together a 14-1 record this season, most recently coming off a 38-21 win over Brigham Young in Provo last weekend. The Gaels have also collected notable wins over Arizona (48-15), UCLA (58-5) and a narrow 27-26 victory over Central Washington.
Cal and Saint Mary's met twice last year, most recently in Moraga on April 15, 2023 in the D1A national quarterfinals. The Bears edged the Gaels 29-28 to advance to the semifinals, in which they would go on to defeat BYU to punch their ticket to the title match against Navy. The Gaels pulled ahead in the contest with back-to-back tries to open up the day's scoring, taking a 21-12 lead into halftime, but the Bears stormed back with a dominant second half performance putting up 17-straight points and hold the Gaels to one converted try in the second period to clinch the victory.
The Bears and the Gaels also contested a regular-season match on March 25, 2023 in Berkeley. The Gaels held the first advantage in the contest, taking a 26-19 lead into the halftime break. The Bears fought back with a strong offensive push to create a 34-26 lead midway through the second period. Saint Mary's put up two tries to reclaim the lead at minute 66, and held onto the advantage for a scoreless final 14 minutes of the match to secure the win.
This weekend, the Bears will be without several starters who have been ruled unavailable due to injury. Sophomore sensation Max Threlkeld was transported from the field during last weekend's match due to a head collision and will remain out indefinitely. Also leaving with injury against Navy was co-captain Will Shankland. Senior second rower Pat Deely will be out and starting flanker Jon Puckett will remain unavailable for the second-straight game. The Bears are hopeful to get Hugo Schreuder back into the forward pack, but his status is uncertain.
Senior co-captains Charlie Walsh and Alex Aguero will continue to lead the forward pack, which will look to build upon its strong performance against the Mids. Cal's forwards denied the Mids two tries on the goal-line and were solid in the scrum to put up an impressive defensive show. They also created opportunity in the Bears' attack, grinding out phases inside the 5-meter line before sending the ball out to the backs to carry in a couple of scores.
Sophomore standouts Solomon Williams and Rand Santos are likely to feature in the midfield as the scrumhalf and flyhalf, respectively, for the sixth time this season. In the backs, Evan Weigold and Kirsten – who were both try scorers against Navy – are anticipated to feature as wingers. Kirsten leads the Bears with his 10 tries this season, while Weigold has dotted down six.
"We're looking forward to playing another tough opposition this Saturday," Walsh said. "These back-to-back high-level games present the great challenge of performing at a consistent level. We've been working hard this week to improve, and can't wait to play this weekend."
The Bears and the Gaels will also contest a reserve-grade contest immediately following the varsity match.
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby).
Players Mentioned
Backrow
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Lock
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Fullback/Wing
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Fullback/Center
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Flanker
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Flyhalf/Center/Fullback
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Flanker
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Flyhalf/Center
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Center
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Prop
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Wing
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Scrumhalf
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