March 16, 2008

RENO, Nev. - California reloaded with a fresh roster and beat Nevada Sunday, 45-5, scoring seven tries. Lucas Yancey and Connor Ring scored twice, while Sean Gallinger and Nathaniel Floyd combined to kick 5-of-7 conversions for the Golden Bears (19-0).

Ring, a freshman, started the scoring early with a try between the posts after some work by two sophomores, with a crash by Lucas Watson followed by a collected pop kick from Sean Gallinger and a trip through the hands.

Nevada's No. 6 received the first of his two yellow cards for throwing elbows, and six minutes later Yancey got his first try with a keeper off a restart. Wing Bryan Van Meter cut inside to take an offload from flanker Tom Rooke for a second try during the first of three trips to the sin bin by the Wolf Pack.

Just after its second yellow ended, Nevada rucked over for a try in the left corner by its No. 8 to make the score 26-5. But the Wolf Pack's No. 6 was sent off with a red card with 16 minutes to play, and Cal prop Steven Fujimoto spent the last six minutes of the match in the bin when he received a yellow for coming into rucks from the side.

Cal often seemed stuck in second gear on the artificial surface in Reno, where overnight flurries melted into puddles on the pitch by game time. Playing 15 against 14 for what ended up being 36 minutes, the Bears could not transcend the home team's shenanigans enough to play at the level they expect.

"We played too slowly," said match-day captain Jason Law. "The mindset is to try and get a quicker ball and bring 110 percent energy. It's a criticism that we've got to turn into a positive." Law and Zack Klaas were try-scorers among the forwards.

With a final home match on Thursday the last test before their Vancouver trip next week, the Golden Bears can now add cold weather to their list of experiences in preparation for the finale of the "World Cup" series against British Columbia.

The Bears will also add foreign flavor to their 2008 resume when they host St. Cuthbert's RFC of Durham University Thursday on Witter Rugby Field. Kickoff will be at 4:00 p.m.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Nevada

03:00 Connor Ring 5, Sean Gallinger 2

21:00 Lucas Yancey 5, Sean Gallinger 2

25:00 Bryan Van Meter 5

31:00 Connor Ring 5, Sean Gallinger 2

Half Time: California 26, Nevada 0

47:00 Nevada 5

51:00 Jason Law 5, Sean Gallinger 2

70:00 Lucas Yancey 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

77:00 Zack Klaas 5

Final Score: California 45, Nevada 5

The Team vs. Nevada:

15. Howard (L. Yancey @ 40:00), 14. Van Meter, 13. L. Watson, 12. D. Watson (Gallinger @ 55:00), 11. Ring, 10. Gallinger (Floyd @ 55:00), 9. L. Yancey (Mase @ 40:00), 1. Besser, 2. Barrett, 3. Fujimoto, 4. Casias, 5. Vaught (Sullivan @ 65:00), 6. Law ©, 7. Rooke (Strack @ 75:00), 8. Balough (Klass @ 48:00)