Photo by Sara Dechance
The Mustangs defeated the Banana Slugs 40-10 in Santa Cruz on Saturday, March 7, notching a bounce-back conference victory as they eagerly look ahead to the outcome of the “Big Game” — a match that will decide the final conference standings.
“We had to scramble a bit, replacing our props and losing a second row and a substitute before the match even started,” assistant coach Paul Cappellano said of his team’s win. “The victory will restore some of the confidence and joy we had earlier in the season and let us focus on improvement of skills during the week.”
Photos: View more from the Mustangs’ victories here.
Liz Goethals scored three tries, Kahlan Hart had three jackals, double-digit tackles and a “strong” 80 minutes, and Alex Luis worked through an injury to contribute in the second row, Cappellano said of players who stood out. Evie Litter won two opponents’ lineouts and did a good job of getting the ball wide quickly — something Cappellano said he’d like the team to work on after their loss to Cal last week.
The Mustangs held a 21-0 lead at the halftime break, and nearly matched that scoring output in the second half by adjusting to Santa Cruz’s physicality. The Banana Slugs managed to score two tries, due in part to missed tackles the Mustangs should have made, Cappellano said.
Cal Poly’s B-side defeated UC Santa Cruz 48-0.
“Subbing out Gopher, everyone had to get more involved in the attack,” Cappellano said. “Anna Moser played well defensively and had a few good exits to take the pressure off. Overall, we need to do a better job of finding space on kicks and covering as a group when the ball doesn’t find touch.”
Sacramento State has forfeited due to player availability issues, so this Saturday’s match has been canceled.
“We are going to take the time to rest up, re-energize, re-organize and re-focus for the regionals,” Cappellano said. “Seeding will depend on the outcome of the Stanford-Cal match this weekend.”
Cal tops the conference standings with an undefeated record. The Golden Bears defeated the Mustangs 36-26 last weekend. Stanford has one conference loss — coming to the Mustangs several weekends ago.
Cal and Stanford kick off at 2:30 p.m. at California Memorial Stadium.