MORAGA - The California rugby team defeated the Saint Mary's Gaels 66-35 in a heavyweight battle of undefeated teams Saturday at Saint Mary's Stadium to close out the regular season. The teams went back and forth in the first half before the Bears (13-0) ran away with the lead in the second half by playing more disciplined rugby and building off a couple early tries from sophomore Masi Koi. Six different players scored 10 tries in the victory for Cal, as Koi led the way with a hat trick.
 
The Gaels struck first in the fifth minute as they elected for a penalty kick after a high tackle from the Bears. Ollie Cline converted the kick, putting Saint Mary's up 3-0.
 
Cal earned a lineout in the seventh minute. Byron Finley bought the ball down and the Bears maintained possession, mauling forward on the right side of the pitch. Solomon Williams passed the ball to captain flyhalf Rand Santos. Santos kicked in a foot pass to Koi on the far touchline, who made one defender miss and ran ahead for the first Cal try of the match.
 
A strong run by Michál de Beer in the 11th minute set up another foot pass from Santos, who this time placed a perfectly kicked ball to Nate Comiskey for another Cal try.
 
The Bears stopped two consecutive goal line drives from the Gaels, but Saint Mary's finally broke through in the 18th minute with a diving try from Iosefa Toia'ivao.
 
An offside penalty from Cal in the 23rd minute led to another Saint Mary's penalty kick. Cline converted to give the Gaels a 13-10 advantage.
 
A strong run from Saint Mary's Colin Donnelly set up Saint Mary's in Cal territory. The Gaels worked the ball to the outside again, and Toia'ivao snuck in past the Cal defense for another try.
 
The Bears answered back in the 30th minute. They were initially stopped at the goal line by the Gaels, but played the ball outside. Williams passed the ball to Santos, who played the ball outside to Oliver Newall. Nate Comiskey took a pass from Newall and dove inside the pyline for his second try of the day, putting the Bears back in front 19-18.
 
Saint Mary's added another try, but Cal answered back in the last minute of the half. The Bears elected an attacking scrum after a Saint Mary's penalty on the goal line. Cal drove the ball forward and Williams picked up the ball out of the scrum, diving ahead for the try to put the Bears ahead 26-23 at the half.
 
Cal didn't miss a beat to start the second half. Saint Mary's failed to recover the ball on the opening kickoff and the ball bounced right to a sprinting Koi, who ran ahead for the try. In the blink of an eye, Cal had a 10-point lead.
 
The Bears kept on attacking as they played the ball wide again in the 45th minute. After passes from Cade Crist, Seamus Deely and Santos, the ball ultimately fell into the hands of Koi with nothing but green grass in front of him. He dove into the tryzone for his third try of the day.
 
Cal scored again in the 57th minute. Williams found a striding Max Threlkeld, who dove face first sandwiched in between two Gaels defenders, landing in the try zone to give the Bears a 45-23 lead.
 
With the big advantage, the Bears subbed off Alex Vieira, Finley, and Deely for freshman William Schreckengaust, Talae Tuimaunei, and freshman Elliott Lewis. Later on in the half, the Bears subbed off key starters Santos and Threlkeld in favor of freshman Oliver Sinclair and Peter Symington.
 
Ryan Wenstrom, Crist, and Williams added tries in the second half, adding cushion to the Bears lead.
 
With the win, the Bears are expected to secure the presumptive No. 1 seed in the West Region of the 2026 D1A Collegiate Championship playoffs, and will host their first playoff game on Saturday, April 11 at Witter Rugby Field.
 
After the game, Santos shared his thoughts.
 
"It was a great way to end the regular season," Santos said. "Defensively in that first half we probably want that back, but I'm super happy with how the guys performed on the attack and adjusted in the second half."
 
"Super proud of that second half performance," Crist added. "Coming into Moraga we knew Saint Mary's was going to be a really good game with the fans and the atmosphere, so super proud of the guys to come away from Moraga with the win and have that home advantage for playoffs."
 
"That first half, it was a tight score, and our defense really let us down,"  Williams said. "We were too condensed, and they were able to get around us and find gaps in the middle. In that second half, we were really able to adapt and problem-solve in that defense."
 
Following the match, the Saint Mary's reserves defeated the Cal Reserves 56-33.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal at Saint Mary's
5:00 – Ollie Cline, 3 (Saint Mary's)
8:00 – Masi Koi, 5, Rand Santos, 2
11:00 – Nate Comiskey, 5
18:00 – Iosefa Toia'vao, 5, Ollie Cline, 2 (Saint Mary's)
24:00 – Ollie Cline, 3 (Saint Mary's)
25:00 – Iosefa Toia'vao, 5, Ollie Cline, 2 (Saint Mary's)
30:00 – Nate Comiskey, 5, Rand Santos, 2
34:00 – Nate Deegan, 5
40:00 – Solomon Williams, 5, Rand Santos, 2
Half: Cal, 26, Saint Mary's, 23
41:00 – Masi Koi, 5, Rand Santos, 2
45:00 – Masi Koi, 5
57:00 – Max Threlkeld, 5, Rand Santos, 2
62:00 – Ryan Wenstrom, 5, Rand Santos, 2
63:00 – Joey Manzoni, 5, Ollie Cline, 2 (Saint Mary's)
66:00 – Cade Crist, 5, Rand Santos, 2
75:00 – Solomon Williams, 5, Rand Santos, 2
80:00 – Izaiah Garrido-Ramirez Ramsey, 5 (Saint Mary's)
Final: Cal, 66, Saint Mary's, 35
 
Starting XV:
1. Oliver Kirk 2. Alex Vieira (William Schreckengaust 66') 3. Cade Crist 4. Byron Finley (Talae Tuimaunei 57') 5. Seamus Deely (Elliott Lewis 66') 6. Brice Muller 7. Ryan Wenstrom 8. Oliver Teague 9. Solomon Williams 10. Rand Santos (Oliver Sinclair 66') 11. Masi Koi 12. Michál de Beer 13. Max Threlkeld (Peter Symington 77') 14. Nate Comiskey 15. Oliver Newall