Feb. 21, 2009

BERKELEY - California welcomed British Columbia to homecoming with a capacity crowd and television cameras Saturday at Witter Rugby Field, as the Golden Bears rose to the occasion to beat UBC, 31-15. The win creates a 16-point advantage for Cal's return trip to Vancouver in March for the finale of the annual "World Cup" series.

Cal winger Dustin Muhn scored the game-winning try in the second half and was named Man of the Match by USA Rugby, which presented the event as the National Guard Game of the Week for an April 6 broadcast on ESPNU.

"The match was very even, two equals," said head coach Jack Clark. "We controlled our position on the field pretty well, played some defense on our own goal line and benefitted from a couple of long-range scores."

UBC flyhalf Harry Jones opened the scoring with a 22-meter penalty boot to give the Thunderbirds a 3-0 lead. Cal's Blaine Scully grabbed the lead for Cal with a try in the corner before Jones missed another penalty attempt nine minutes later from 30 meters that would have regained the lead for the visitors.

Cal flyhalf Keegan Engelbrecht upped the lead to five with a drop-goal from 30 meters at minute 23. The senior from Flower Mound, Texas, then slotted a penalty kick 12 minutes later.

UBC outside center Jon Anthony finished a T-Birds burst with an uncoverted try in the right corner in first-half injury time to trim Cal's lead to three at halftime.

The second half kept the intensity sky-high as the sellout crowd was joined by a host of fans who created their own version of Tightwad Hill on the slopes of Strawberry Canyon.

Engelbrecht nailed his second penalty kick to widen the Bears' lead to six before UBC's Jones scored a try and kicked the conversion to make it a one-point match.

Jones missed a makeable penalty attempt from 17 meters, but the crowd remained unsettled with momentum hanging in the balance before Muhn took a pass from Colin Hawley and broke into space, cutting inside to lose the last T-Bird and score what proved to be a 50-meter game-winning run under the posts.

Engelbrecht's feet may have been just as valuable as Muhn's, with the flyhalf ending his day 3-for-4 on penalty kicks, 1-for-2 on drop goals and 2-for-3 on conversions to account for 16 points.

Lock Eric Fry said stopping Jones and performing better in the scrum were important parts of the Cal game plan today: "Last year in Vancouver we let Harry run all over us, and in the scrum they had us on ice skates, going backwards. This time we held up better in the scrum. But if last year shows anything, our return trip up there is going to be another big battle."

"My guys stood in there and gave it their all," said UBC head coach Spence McTavish. "I was a little disappointed in our tactics and follow-through, which kind of hurt us a bit. But this is a two-game competition and [the Bears] do have to come up to Vancouver, to our territory, so we will have another opportunity."

Said Muhn of his award, "It could have gone to any one of my teammates because so many had a great game." He called his score "probably one of the most satisfying tries I've ever scored, but this is just one summit with a long way to go."

Match-day captain Chris Biller accepted a commemorative trophy from USA Rugby on behalf of the inaugural National Guard Game of the Week that coincided with homecoming and the opening clash of the annual, two-match "World Cup" series.

USA Rugby Director of Competition Dan Payne called the game "top notch, a phenomenal display of rugby by both teams." With today's match slated as the first of a three-contest series to air in April on ESPNU, Payne said, "We've set the bar pretty high, with a sincere thanks to Cal and all rugby fans."

Now 19-0, the Bears next face UC Santa Cruz Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m. to end their brief homestand before hitting the road for two-day, three-match visit Feb. 28-March 1 to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where Cal will sandwich clashes against the Eastern Penn and Florida College Reps around a renewed rivalry with New York Athletic Club, the 2008 Rugby Super League champion.

The Scoring Timeline vs. British Columbia:

03:00 UBC (Harry Jones) 3

10:00 Blaine Scully 5

23:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3

35:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3

42:00 UBC (Jon Anthony) 5

Halftime: California 11, British Columbia 8

45:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3

52:00 UBC (Harry Jones) 5, 2

61:00 Dustin Muhn 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

67:00 Blaine Scully 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

82:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3

Final Score: California 31, British Columbia 15

The Team vs. British Columbia:

15. Bailes, 14. Muhn, 13. Hawley, 12. Gallinger (Scully @ 72:00), 11. Scully (Taylor @ 72:00), 10. Engelbrecht, 9. Mase (Ring @ 39:00, Mase @ 44:00), 1. Wilhelmy, 2. Biller ©, 3. Besser, 4. Snellgrove (Jesseman @ 69:00), 5. Fry, 6. Kidd, 7. Rooke, 8. Asbun