Life West’s Guillaume Casenave attacking the OMBAC defense. Photo: Aubrey Huey
With both Life West’s and SFGG’s season on the line, the fifth round of the inaugural Cal Cup looked to be a hotly contested match. Sitting at the top of the table going in to this weekend’s match, the Gladiators needed a tie or a win to move on to the finals next weekend. The first score of the match came off the boot of Life West student and flyhalf Guillaume Casenave for the 3-0 lead. After an ensuring try by SFGG, the Gladiators responded with a try of their own through scrum half Dev Ferris, converted by Casenave for a 10-7 lead. Golden Gate, not to be deterred, soon pushed to a 24-10 lead, but Life was able to respond in the closing minutes of the first half with a powerful scrum and try under the posts by flanker Siupeli Sakalia for a score of 24-17 at the break. The second half opened with intensity, with Golden Gate and the Gladiators scoring a try each in the opening minutes and SFGG adding another penalty for a 34-22 lead with 20 minutes remaining. It was to be the last points scored by SFGG. Two tries down, Life West found momentum following an SFGG yellow card with a try through Huluholo Moungaloa, and were able to retain possession on the kickoff through a brilliant take by first-quarter student Zach Bronte. In the 77th minute, Life West was awarded a five-meter penalty, and flanker Siupeli Sakalia took the pass from scrumhalf Ferris and barged over for the winning try. With another perfect take by flanker Bronte, Life West was able to keep the ball and secure the match in the dying seconds. With the final whistle, Life West celebrated its 36-34 victory, its first ever victory over SFGG, and entry to the Cal Cup Grande Final on January 21st.
Cal Cup Championship Final
3:00pm Kick Off v OMBAC (San Diego)
Ray Sheeran Park, SFGG
725 California Ave,
San Francisco, CA 94130