Cal Poly now leads the DII West Coast conference, banking a 91-19 win over St. Mary’s College (1-2) to improve to 3-0. The Mustangs will now play the only other undefeated in the league – San Jose State – on Saturday, Jan. 25.
RELATED: Fixtures & Results: Jan 18-19, 2020
Cal Poly put up 31 points in the first 15 minutes of the match, and as head coach Zach Markow said last week, halting that type of momentum requires a Herculean effort from the opposition.
“Our defense played a major role in our victory,” Markow praised the round performance. “We were able to put a lot of pressure on them in attack, and that pressure led to turnovers, and we did a great job at capitalizing on those turnovers. St. Mary’s has a great defense, so being able to get them on their heels by capitalizing on turnovers was certainly a difference-maker. We were also able to use our speed on the outside to score many of our tries.”
Ten players scored 15 tries, while lock Sidney Swney (7) and fullback Charlotte Henry shared kicking duties.
“It was a great team victory, and we had many girls stand out and perform,” Markow praised. “Rookie winger Kaela Lee contributed greatly to our quick strikes, having several big runs and scoring two tries, while [No. 8] Shelby Robinett brought power to our game and had four tries on the day.”
Swney, lock Courtney Slamon, flankers Georgia Hake and Abrielle Jens, flyhalf Elena Strom, inside center Kahye Yu, outside center Lena Silberman and wing Marina Tacconi also scored tries.
“I can’t give enough credit to St. Mary’s; they have an excellent program,” Markow lauded last year’s West Coast runner-up. “Their girls gave us a great test and fought us for the entire 80 minutes. They pressured our ball when in defense and tested our defensive line several times. I’m proud of how well our girls stood up to the opposition.”
Saturday marked Cal Poly’s third-straight bonus point win, and the San Luis Obispo team leads the standings with 15 points. This Saturday, the Mustangs will travel to San Jose to face the Spartans, which have defeated Humboldt 53-0 and CSU Monterey Bay 70-10 thus far.
“A win like this obviously is a boost for our confidence, and I think all of the girls are starting to see how special this season can be,” Markow concluded. However, we will maintain our week-to-week focus as we prepare for another big match against a tough opponent in SJSU. The regular season is a nine-week heavyweight fight, and right now all we are focused on is Round 4.”
In other league news, Santa Clara improved to 2-1 with a 54-10 win over UC Santa Cruz (2-2). Sydney Lenoch (2), Rebecca Walters, Courtney Davis, Carley Fowler, Maya Hunt, Faith Harlan and Veronica Tilley scored tries, while flyhalf Maggie Avery kicked seven of eight conversions.
Conference play officially picks up this weekend, as eight of 10 teams are in action:
UC Santa Cruz @ Sacramento State
CSU Monterey Bay @ Santa Clara
Humboldt State @ St. Mary’s
Cal Poly @ San Jose State
#WestCoast