Life West were on a mission at the start of the Cal Cup to win the championship in their inaugural PRP season, and they looked to complete that task this weekend against OMBAC from San Diego. However, they were unable to overcome their opponents 22-26 in a thrilling final at Treasure Island in San Francisco.
OMBAC started out strong with a try in the seventh minute. Life West then replied through a penalty against the wind with a brilliant 40m penalty from fly half Guillaume Cazenave not long after. But the back and forth match continued as OMBAC exploited a turnover to score in the corner, putting the match at 12-3.
Towards the end of the first half, Life West made a push but were prevented from scoring a try, despite OMBAC receiving a yellow card.
Life West got out to a strong start in the second half when Cazenave scored Life West’s first try. That made it 20-8. The Gladiators then continued the push with lock Alex Pedjase scoring a try in the 50th minute to make it 20-15. However, two penalties by OMBAC gave them the gap they needed. Life West made one last push that saw Siupeli Sakalia get a try with just a minute left, but were unable to score again off the restart. Congrats to OMBAC on the championship and our Life West Gladiators on the great season.
The Life West Gladiatrix also had their first league match of the season, emerging victorious over the Sacramento Amazons 83 — 10 with strong performances from students Hali Deters, Jordan Gray, Amy Naber, and Tiara Littleton to start their inaugural D1 season following an undefeated DII season last year. Next week they face San Jose Seahawks in San Jose.