Feb 25- Fresh off a nice win over Trinity Western, the Wildcats traveled to Los Angeles for an important clash with UCLA, a key game for west coast standings as both teams track towards the postseason. The last three years the match has featured single digit margins, and this year would be no exception in possibly the most dramatic yet.​​

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The Wildcats would start well, getting up 3-0 on a penalty by UCLA on the opening kickoff. The teams would go back and forth before the Bruins got a penalty of their own in front of the posts, tying the game at 3 in the 21st minute. UCLA would take advantage of an Arizona handling error soon after, working their way downfield and touching down a grubber to make it 10-3. Another penalty, this time for a defensive mistake by the Wildcats would make it 13-3. Ted Champion would help lead the response, putting a kick of his own into the corner that he would chase and touch down to make it 13-8 just before halftime. 

 

"We knew it would be a battle, but we felt we had a good game plan, a good week of training, and we could start to bring pressure in all three aspects of the game, especially in the second half" said Director of Rugby Sean Duffy. The Wildcats would start off with a mistake that would make that more difficult, putting a ball on the floor in attack that the Bruins would scoop up just after halftime to make it it 20-8, putting the Wildcats at a deficit that they would do their best to claw back from. Jack Bresland would help lead the response, anchoring a strong lineout all day and creating a gap in the UCLA defense from 10 m out to make it 20-15. Arizona would commit another penalty in kickable range for UCLA, making it 23-15 just five minutes later as the back and forth continued. Arizona would then start to string positive plays together, tightening up in defense and cleaning up things in attack to work down the field into the UCLA 22. Wing Nick Morgan would do his part a few minutes later, breaking a number of tackles down the right touch line and making it 23-20 in the 62nd minute. Penalties, a theme all day for both teams, would bite the Wildcats again, as multiple infringements in the 22 created a scoring opportunity for the hosts that they would seize to make it 30-20 in the 65th minute. The Wildcats were not done, however, with Flyhalf Saxon Gerstl finding a gap soon after to make it 30-27, and Arizona turning UCLA over on the last play to give themselves an attacking lineout on halfway. It was too little too late for Arizona, as the lineout would result in an obstruction infraction, ending the game and leaving the Wildcats agonizing over what could have been. 

 

"First off credit to UCLA and it was a great showcase of how the college game is growing. But we are incredibly disappointed to let some great performances go to waste through mistakes that we all feel are avoidable. We outscored them in the second half and scored more tries on the day, and did a lot of great things, but you can't shift points and penalties. Our message was simple post-match: it's a lesson, or it's a loss. One of the two. We have a lot of guys working hard to get better and if the early signs are any indication of the character of this group, they'll continue to bounce back and demonstrate that resilience we need to take the next step as a program" said Duffy.

 

The day did feature one win for the Wildcats, as their 2nd XV defeated UCLA 64-7. Arizona's 1st XV will return home for a March 1 matchup against BYU this Saturday at Sitton Field. 

 

For the Wildcats full schedule, click here.

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Scoring vs UCLA

Tries: 4- Champion, Bresland, Morgan, Gerstl

Conversions: Berenger- 1/2, Champion- 1/2

Penalties: Berenger- 1/1, Champion- 0/1

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1st XV vs UCLA

​​1- Isaac Morrill

2- Cameron Blair- C

3- Dalton Slaughter

4- Andreas Andersson

5- Jack Bresland

6- Aston Gradwick-Light

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- Henry Langrish

17- Tucker Johnstone

18- Seamus McCarthy

19- Jacob Jaffe

20- Troy Norman

21- Lucas Smith

22- Nick Morgan

23- Gustave Martinez

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Scoring vs UCLA 2nd XV

Tries: 11- Postin (2), Kutcher (2), Herbes, Hertstein, Rohrsheim, McNulty, Kliavkoff, Manning, Zapata

Conversions: McCormick- 4/7, Manning- 3/4

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2nd XV vs UCLA 2nd XV

1- Logan Able

2- Carter Hertstein

3- Marcus Harris

4- Pacific Smiley

5- Kai Moananu-Apela

6- Braedon Butte

7- Ben Herbes

8- Sean McNulty- VC

9- Lucas Smith

10- Will Rohrsheim

11- Brody Johnson

12- Sintu Mjali- C

13- PJ Enegren

14- Jackson Kutcher

15- Connor McCormick

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16- Dominic Zapata

17- Marcus Harris

18- Lucas Holton

19- Henry Kliavkoff

20- Kaelan Meyer

21- Seth Catchpole

22- Tom Manning

23- Kaleo Agustin

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