Cal Sweeps in Arizona

02.20.2024

Cal swept their two games on their Arizona trip over the weekend, beating 85-10 ad Grand Canyon

On Saturday in Tucson Cal got a brace of tries each from Oliver Newall, Pat Deely, Will Shankland. Kealan O'Connell continued his form as a goalkicker with 10 conversions for 20 points.

“That was a warm winter day, and all the players deserve credit for staying at it," said Cal Head Coach Jack Clark. "I thought our boys were good today. We had a lot of possession, and strung together some good phases of rugby.”

Cal scored through Newall within four minutes and Deely at lock secured his pair within the space of 10 minutes to make it 17-0 after 17. By halftime it was 43-5.

On Monday, Cal took on Grand Canyon with a changed (but not completely different) lineup.

Wing Joe Kirsten scored three tries on the day and the other wing, Evan Weigold, added two as the Bears won 74-7.

The Bears were on the attack early once again and Weigold was over within two minutes. And really they scored on a fairly regular clip throughout the game.

Cal's continuity was good throughout the weekend and the Bears outscored their two ranked opponents 159-17, showcasing a strong defensive effort, as well.

Kirsten ended up with four tries over the two games while Newall notched three.

For GCU it was a good experience for a young team—10 freshmen suited up against Cal.

"We played all 23 players and, like last week, we spent the last si or seven minutes on their tryline," said GCU Head Coach Sean O'Leary. "We will always fight to the end and fight together; we found something special in a loss."

Next up for Cal is another road game, at Utah this coming Saturday, and a week after that they travel to West Point. For GCU, a crucial series of games come after a bye week with a trip to Texas A&M and a home game against Mount St. Mary's.

Cal Sweeps in Arizona

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