队长 Kaipono Kayoshi MA ' 24 takes the ball upfield while attempting the dodge the UCLA defense during the match against the Bruins on February 17 at Saint Mary's Stadium. /丽贝卡·哈珀摄
In Men’s Rugby, Gaels Respond with Urgency to Overcome UCLA 58–5
Saint Mary’s displayed proficient teamwork 和 profound speed with the win over the Bruins on Saturday.
Spectators gathered at the Saint Mary's Stadium on Saturday, February 17 with preparations for rainy weather during the Men’s Rugby matchup against the UCLA Bruins. And they witnessed a thunderous win by the Gaels’ A-Side.
The match began with UCLA kicking off to Saint Mary’s 和 the Bruin offense gaining momentum by frequently putting the Gaels behind their 22-field line. The Gaels responded with urgency 和 made good use of penalties called against UCLA. Back-和-forth possession between the two teams had the fans eager to see who would score first. UCLA hooker Samuel Mcmillan 和 wing Niko Cortessis did well on offense, both making it to Gaels’ try zone before getting stopped in their tracks by the SMC defense.
The alternating possession subsided once the Gaels gained 和 maintained possession 和 capitalized on the weak side of UCLA's defense. At the nine-minute mark of the game, lock 莱顿·德尔泽尔24届硕士 scored the first points in the match. The Bruins continued to push SMC's defense 和 were inches away from the Saint Mary’s try zone before being stopped by Gaels’ forward pack. With 20 minutes left in the first half, a sequence of impressive offloads moved the ball wide to right wing 杰克·内格雷特24届硕士 试一试. 盖尔人后卫 马里奥·斯托蒂25岁 made the conversion kick; he proved to be a key offensive piece in Saturday’s match, making a majority of the conversions.
圣玛丽中心 多米尼克·贝萨格，26岁 也没有让人失望. He appeared to be all over the field as a playmaker 和 was an absolute tank on offense. With 14 minutes left in the first half, Besag outran multiple Bruins across the length of the field. The first half ended with a try from Erich Storti硕士24届 和 马里奥·斯托蒂25岁 flyhalf后 Sosia Pongi ' 26 exhibited excellent offensive work 和 cheeky offloads.
The second half was equally eventful. Possession stayed mainly in the h和s of the Gaels. 又一次尝试 马里奥·斯托蒂25岁 把比分扳到43比0.
After a lot of work all over the field, 26岁的艾瑟法 为盖尔人做了一次尝试. Bruins flanker Ira Lin the scored for UCLA, putting the tally at 53–5 in favor of the Gaels. 圣玛丽的八个人 24年的马图国王 put in an incredible amount of work the entire game on both defense 和 offense while making all the difference on set pieces. Matu made the last try of the game, bringing the final score to 58–5 Saint Mary’s.
Continued Speed During the B-Side Match-up
在b面比赛期间, both teams showed tremendous effort 和 performed especially well for the rainy weather. 圣玛丽中心 特里斯坦·麦卡利斯特，24岁 played a blinder of a game, scoring the first try of the game 和 many more throughout the match. His aggression on offense had the UCLA defense on their heels after he put his shoulder down only a few times.
盖尔人8名 伊森·塔法25岁 ran unstoppable lines 和 surprised the Bruins off scrums 和 lineouts. Taufa scored with 31 minutes left in the first half, putting the score at 12–0 in favor of the Gaels. Shortly after, Saint Mary’s flyhalf 26岁的艾瑟法 intercepted the ball inside the Saint Mary’s half 和 ran it upfield 试一试, 把比分扳到19比0. That was followed by great trys from Saint Mary’s players Taufa, 特里斯坦·麦卡利斯特，24岁, Garrison Williams ’26, 和 扎克·艾伦24岁. UCLA managed to put a couple of points on the board before Saint Mary’s flanker 乔伊·曼宗，27岁 scored the last try of the match, leaving the score 53–14 in favor of the Gaels.
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