Cal defeated Arizona State 79-0 Monday to complete the Bears' trip to the Grand Canyon State.

The two-game trip against the Arizona Wildcats the Sun Devils served as the opening of the PAC Rugby Conference season for Cal, and also as a chance for several players to get serious playing time. With the two wins this weekend, Cal is now 2-0, tied with UCLA and Utah.

“ASU was possibly a little stronger of a match than Arizona on Saturday and I thought the boys had a strong endeavor today,” Cal Head Coach Jack Clark said. “We were pretty solid in most aspects of our play. I’m really pleased that mixing our lineups didn't derail our performance.”

Wing Jake Goena scored three tries for Cal, joining multi-try scorers Evan Coleman, Thomas Robles and Jesse Milne, each of whom scored twice. Harry Adolphus (2-of-8), Nicklas Boyer (3-of-3) and Jamie Howells (2-of-2) handled the conversion kicking for the Bears. 

“Focus, physicality and effort were our three targets today,” said Cal's matchday captain Michael Bush. “There were a lot of challenges on this road trip and a lot of minutes for a lot of different guys. It will be good to go home and get back to our normal training pattern.”

Among Monday’s starters was freshman and former GRR Player of the Week Chase Bixby, a 6-7, 235-pound lock from Sacramento who played all 80 minutes against the Devils. “It was tough but a real privilege to put on that blue and gold jersey,” he said. “I really wanted to prove that I can contribute to this team.”

As far as conference play goes, Cal will take on UCLA in two weeks, and then Utah plays UCLA March 12 before facing Cal March 26.