Two tries just after the 60th minute stymied a Cal comeback and brought Saint Mary's a rather remarkable 38-34 victory over Cal.
Both head coaches lauded the game and the day.
“Congratulations to Saint Mary’s; that was a proper game of first XV rugby,” Cal Head Coach Jack Clark said.
"It was great for college rugby, great for rugby," added Saint Mary's Head Coach Tim O'Brien. "I can't say I'm totally cool if we lose, but win or lose it was a great day for rugby."
The Gaels struck first, putting back-to-back tries on the board in the first 15 minutes to lead 12-0. Cal answered with a try from No. 8 Alex Aguero and Max Schumacher's conversion made it 12-7. Saint Mary's answered and led 19-7. But a run from Evan Weigold and a chargedown from Aguero made it 19-19 just before halftime.
As the break approached the Gaels scored their fourth try and took a 26-19 lead into halftime.
But Cal surged back in the second half. Schumacher added a penalty goal and that was followed soon thereafter by a try from Cal Liebowitz and one from Schumacher made it 34-26 for Cal. Cal had other chances but penalties undercut them.
Then in quick succession Saint Mary's scored twice to go ahead 38-34.
Joe Marchant, Dom Besag, and Mario Storti all showed well for Saint Mary's.
"Joe led from the front in a very good way," said O'Brien. "The forwards coaches have been brilliant and the forwards kept us competitive. The team embraces a free-flowing style but really the credit goes to the leadership group on the team —captain, club president, and six other players. I think players need to take on more responsibility and they deserve a lot of credit.
