Cal Rugby: Bears Win UCLA Event
Cal rugby closed out the Dennis Storer Classic with a 19-8 victory over host UCLA on Sunday, finishing the tournament with 3-0 record.
The Bears had to rally in the second half after the Bruins took a 3-0 lead into halftime on the stength of a UCLA penalty kick n the second minute.
"Trailing at halftime, we knew that we needed to stick with our system, start striking, and move forward," said senior captain Thomas Spradling.
The Bears scored five minutes into the second half and took a 5-3 lead thanks to a try from junior wing Marcus Shankland. UCLA scored a try in the 33rd minute to take an 8-5 lead, but Cal was awarded a penalty try three minutes later to retake a 12-8 lead. The Bears scored once more as Shankland collected his second try of the game in the final minute and the conversion made it 19-8 at the final whistle.
"I thought we were only OK throughout the weekend," said head coach Jack Clark. "Maybe understandable Saturday with so many underclassmen in the lineups, less palatable Sunday with a mostly experienced team on the field. Give credit to UCLA for making it so difficult on us. It's early for sure, but we are behind where we should be. We need urgency until we catch up."
Cal will now head home to prepare for Saturday's 1 p.m. match at UC Davis.
Scoring Timeline:
Cal 19, UCLA 8
02:00 UCLA Shane Barry 3
Halftime Score: Cal 0, UCLA 3
25:00 Cal -- Marcus Shankland 533:00 UCLA -- Connor Weigold 536:00 Cal -- Penalty Try 740:00 Cal -- Marcus Shankland 5, Ken Kurihara 2