BERKELEY – California rugby will visit Moraga to face Saint Mary's in the D1A national collegiate championship quarterfinals on Saturday. The West Region No. 4 seed Golden Bears will take on the region's top-seeded Gaels at Saint Mary's Stadium at 1 p.m. PDT.
 
Cal (11-3) clinched a spot in the national quarterfinals following its convincing 70-13 win over west region No. 5 seed Cal Poly last weekend in Berkeley. The Bears put up 11 tries, headlined by senior Evan Weigold's hat trick and two apiece by junior Joe Kirsten and sophomore Oliver Newall. Cal's defense held the Mustangs to two unconverted tries and one penalty kick to secure the victory.
 
Saint Mary's (16-1) hosted eighth-seeded Grand Canyon in the round of 16 last weekend, handling the Antelopes 78-7. Saint Mary's and Cal have had several mutual opponents this season, including Grand Canyon which the Bears defeated 74-7. Both teams also took wins over UCLA – the Gaels winning 58-5 and Cal taking a 66-12 win. The Gaels beat Arizona 48-15, while Cal beat the Wildcats 85-10, and Saint Mary's beat Cal Poly 73-34 while Cal beat the Mustangs 70-13. Both teams also played Brigham Young, with the Gaels prevailing 38-21 over the Cougars while the Bears took a 53-26 defeat.
 
Cal and Saint Mary's met just a few weeks ago on March 23 for the Bears' regular-season finale. Cal led for the first half of the contest, scoring four tries to the Gaels' two. After the break, Saint Mary's fought back with a pair of tries to edge ahead with a 26-24 lead. Cal retook the lead in the 62nd minute before the Gaels had a score-leveling try at minute 67. For the final 13 minutes of the contest, the teams traded possession and scoring opportunities, but it was the Gaels who were able to punch in another try at the 76th minute to clinch the 38-31 victory.
 
This will be the second-consecutive year in which Cal travels to Saint Mary's for the national quarterfinal match; last year, the Bears edged the Gaels 29-28 in Moraga to advance to the national semifinals and eventually defeated BYU to earn a spot in the title match against eventual champion Navy. Saint Mary's pulled ahead in the contest with a pair of tries to open up the match. A breakaway run by former Bear Max Clark put Cal on the board, and both teams scored one more converted try to make it 21-12 in favor of the Gaels at the intermission. Cal dominated the second half, scoring two unanswered tries by then-freshman Rand Santos and then-sophomore Kealan O'Connell. Cal alum Max Schumacher added the extras and put a penalty kick on the scoresheet to give the Bears a 29-21 advantage. Saint Mary's scored a converted try with two minutes of play left in the contest, but the Bears' defense held on and Cal clinched the victory at the final whistle. Eleven of the Bears' starting XV in the contest remain on the Cal roster, in addition to two out of the three reserve players who came off the bench in the match.
 
Cal is hopeful to have its roster return to full strength this weekend after being without several starters for the last few matches. If so, the Bears could make as many as eight changes from the side they fielded in the round of 16 and four changes from their regular season meeting with the Gaels. Senior co-captain Will Shankland is looking to return as the outside center after being out since Cal's victory over Navy on March 16. He is likely to be paired with sophomore inside center Max Threlkeld, who made his return to the pitch in the postseason round of 16 after being out with an injury sustained in the match against Navy.
 
Sophomores Solomon Williams and Rand Santos have been solid this season coupled as the scrumhalf and flyhalf, respectively, and are expected to play against the Gaels, in addition to senior Weigold and juniors Kirsten and O'Connell, who are likely to make up the deep three as the wingers and fullback. 
 
The forward pack is also hopeful to get a boost from the returns of senior lock Pat Deely and junior backrower Jon Puckett. Puckett has been out since the beginning of March while Deely sustained an injury that has kept him out of Cal's last two contests. Junior backrower Hugo Schreuder is also hopeful to return after missing the first round of the playoffs. Schreuder is anticipated to join senior co-captain Alex Aguero in the backrow, who is expected to wear the No. 8 shirt. The front row will likely welcome back senior Emilio Shea as the loosehead prop, along with senior co-captain Charlie Walsh as the tighthead and sophomore Cade Crist as the hooker.
 
"We're really excited for the challenge ahead," Walsh said. "We've had a good week of preparation and the energy levels are high."
 
Tickets for the match can be purchased in advance here, or at the gate upon entry. Fans unable to attend can watch it live on the Gael Rugby YouTube.
 
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