2008 Woodie Awards
Men's rugby falls to #1 California
Saint Mary's loses in second showdown against Bears
Casey O'Brien
Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: Sports
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As the #3 Gaels, faced the #1 Bears, the Pat Vincent Memorial field was jam-packed with fans from all over the east bay.
In the previous match between the Gaels and the Bears, Saint Mary's was defeated 33-12, as Berkeley played a strong and tactical defense.
"Cal plays very tough and flawless. To be the number one ranked team, you can't make mistakes, and they do just that. Cal is the epitome of a 'stronger, faster, better' team, and they played hard today, but we showed them the strength of our team," said Volney Roose '07.
The Gaels exposed their intensity to beat the Bears from the first drive at the beginning of the game, as Kevin Swiryn '07 drove the ball into the try zone to take the lead 7-0.
"That first try really gave us the morale we needed for the game. After the half, we realized that we shot ourselves in the foot during the first half, and we needed to make adjustments for the second half. We went out there and basically just played as hard as we could, but still made mistakes," said Blake McGahan '09.
Although the Gaels came out strong from the get-go, the Bears only allowed them margins of the field. The Bears went on to score 31 points in the first half for a 24-point lead at the end of the first half.
Since California took advantage of the Gaels' defensive mistakes and played impeccable offense during the first half, the Gaels knew that they would have to play a staggering second half for a victory over the nationally ranked first Bears .
"We picked up the second half with a lot of heart, and we knew what we had to do," said Roose.
When the Gaels set out for the second half of the match, they held the Bears to only one try and one plenty kick.