Feb 18- Fresh off the bye week and welcoming a brand new opponent, Arizona took the field on Saturday against Canadian side Trinity Western with much to prove and a desire to get back in the win column.

 

The Wildcats would start well, with an early scrum deep in the Spartans' half giving Mattox King a platform to push through the defense, making it 7-0 in the 4th minute after a Matteo Berenger conversion. The Spartans would respond, taking advantage of Arizona mistakes to work their way into the 22 and eventually even up the game before a Berenger penalty would push the Wildcats back into the lead at 10-7. A long-range penalty from Trinity Western soon after would tie the game back up at 10. The Arizona defensive pressure would directly result in points in the 25th minute as Ted Champion would jump on a bobbled ball in the try zone to make it 17-10, but soon after the bounce of the ball would go the opponents' way as Trinity Western would make it 17-15 just before halftime. Arizona would start to gain the upper hand just before the break, as Flyhalf Saxon Gerstl, Scrumhalf Jacob Hall, and Flanker Troy Norman combined for a brilliant try to make it 24-15 going into the second half.

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"We wanted a battle, that's why we scheduled them. Halftime message was pretty simple, and the boys did a great job of sticking with the plan" said Director of Rugby Sean Duffy. An early second half try by TWU would give the Spartans an opening, but from there the Wildcats depth and decision making started to pay dividends. Two Matteo Berenger penalties would make it 30-20 just before Lock Harry Hobson would find Cameron Blair in support for a try to make it 37-20. In one of the major plays of the day, Wing Nick Morgan would go 60 meters for a long-range try, the first of his career in the 1st XV to make it 42-20. The Arizona bench would continue to make massive impacts, with Hooker Tucker Johnstone working off the back of a maul to make it 49-20 in the 78th minute, with a final-minute try from TWU in the corner making it 49-27 and pushing the Wildcats' record to 7-3 on the season. ​

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"One of the more satisfying wins this year in my opinion, because that's a good side and this is a really good series for us. Our guys problem-solved, we had a plan, stuck to it, but then made adjustments and the finishers brought tremendous energy. It was a 23-man effort and everyone played a role. We look forward to traveling to Canada next year and with Trinity Western all the best with the rest of their season" said Duffy. Arizona 2nd XV played a shortened match with Trinity Western 2nd XV, winning 29-0.

Both teams will hit the road this weekend, taking on UCLA on Saturday.​

 

For the Wildcats full schedule, click here.

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Scoring vs Trinity Western

Tries: 6- King, Champion, Norman, Blair, Morgan, Johnstone

Conv: Berenger- 5/6

Pen: Berenger- 3/4

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1st XV vs Trinity Western

​​1- Isaac Morrill

2- Cameron Blair- C

3- Dalton Slaughter

4- Andreas Andersson

5- Jack Bresland

6- Troy Norman

7- Tanner DeMassa

8- Aiden Kemp

9- Jacob Hall

10- Saxon Gerstl

11- Jake Schumacher

12- Ted Champion

13- Mattox King

14- Antonio Gonzalez

15- Matteo Berenger- VC
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16- Tucker Johnstone

17- Jack Kerrigan

18- Seamus McCarthy

19- Harry Hobson

20- Jacob Jaffe

21- Lucas Smith

22- Gustave Martinez

23- Nick Morgan

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Scoring vs Trinity Western 2nd XV

Tries: Johnson (2), Enegren, Rohrsheim, Manning

Conv: McCormick- 1/3, Manning- 1/1, Rohrsheim- 0/1

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2nd XV 

1- Logan Able

2- Carter Hertstein

3- Marcus Harris

4- Pacific Smiley- C

5- Kai Moananu-Apela

6- Henry Kliavkoff

7- Ben Herbes

8- Braedon Butte

9- Lucas Smith

10- Will Rohrsheim

11- Brody Johnson

12- Sintu Mjali- VC

13- PJ Enegren

14- Jackson Kutcher

15- Connor McCormick

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16- Dominic Zapata

17- Max Wang

18- Kaelan Meyer

19- Max Tenery

20- Tom Manning

21- Evan Cram

22- Kaleo Agustin

23- Seth Catchpole

24- Brendan Doebel

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