The Mustangs seemed to finally play up to their ability in their second game against UCSB this past Friday night. A change in a few players’ positions and team tactics seemed to be the difference for Cal Poly, as they were finally able to get the ball into the try zone in the first half. The scoring for Cal Poly opened with a brilliant feed from flyhalf Stuart Sharpe that put 8-man Alex Murchison into a hole about 10 meters out from the Gaucho’s try zone. Stuart Sharpe was quoted saying, “Well I was really sorry for scoring against UCSB, but I’m thrilled that we got into the try zone because it has escaped us for so much of the season.” From then on, the Mustangs new tactics seemed to keep UCSB on their back foot, and Cal Poly eventually scored with a brilliant off-the-maul move from prop Kris “Osty” Osterloh. Once again, Cal Poly got close to scoring, and flanker David Schaefer put it in with a weak side call that caught the Gauchos off guard. Another try from Alex Murchison, and Stuart Sharpe’s brilliant running and tactical kicking helped put three more scores into the try zone for Cal Poly. The second half saw Cal Poly get back to their old ways- being so close to scoring but not being able finish it off. However, the Mustangs solid defense allowed only 8 points in the first half, and zero points in the second half. In the end, it was 33-8 Cal Poly, and the Mustangs have their first win of the year. It wasn’t a full game, but it showed that the hard work of the players and the coaching staff is finally paying its dividends. Flanker Eric Watson felt great about the Mustangs performance- “I’m excited to see what happens in the next couple of games. We’ve put so much work in and we’ll see what happens soon enough.”
