January 11, 2025

Stanford Rugby vs Santa Clara University
Bellomy Field
Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara 49 - Stanford 20 

Stanford Men's Rugby kicked off the new year against Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon; the first of two preseason matches ahead of the 2025 D1AA season. The match provided valuable experience and game time for ten rookies on the roster.

The match was a physical battle from the start as a strong contingent of Cardinal fans watched on. Santa Clara posted three converted first half tries as the Cardinal looked to gain momentum amidst early injuries and a first half yellow card. Before the halftime break, the Cardinal sighted an opportunity. 

Off of a midfield scrum near the 50m line, Jeff Edsall '25, who went from flanker to center to flyhalf that afternoon, punted the ball down the pitch sending Patrick Straw '25, Su Reh '28, and Patrick Kennedy '27 on the chase. The kick was misjudged by the SCU player finding himself retrieving the kick near the try line. Straw tackled the isolated winger with Reh and Kennedy closing in as well. Kennedy spotted the ball loose after the tackle and jumped on the ball in the try zone to put the the Cardinal on the board at half 21-5. 

The second half started off rocky as a second yellow card to Straw found the Cardinal tasked with playing down a player for the remainder of the game. Despite the challenge, the Cardinal's halftime adjustments proved valuable. In the 46th minute, Caleb Compton carried off a scrum putting winger Armando Bordo '26 into space. The strong carries down the sideline set the platform for three strong phases from the forwards as they worked across the pitch. The Cardinal were rewarded for their efforts as a quick ball from scrumhalf, Leiden Brueschke '28 to fellow rookie Travis Senf '25, found 6'5" Senf breaking through a tackle and outstretched for the try.

The score now 10-21 to SCU was short lived as a bobbled on the subsequent kickoff found SCU in the tryzone 10-28 after the conversion.

The Cardinal answered back after hooker, Connor Slattery '27, poached the ball at a tackle about 15 meters from the SCU tryline. Slattery popped the ball off to Connor Mehaffy '26, who found Ben Felter '25 for a one on one battle. The 6'7" Felter rolled towards the tryline in the tackle to find himself within arms distance of the line bringing the score to 15-28. Felter was joined on the pitch by two former Stanford Rowing teammates, Senf and Nicholas Woehrle '25. All three bringing additional size and strength to the Stanford scrums and lineouts for the season.

Santa Clara stifled the rising Cardinal momentum with another try to widen the margin.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the match, the Cardinal pressed towards the line capitalizing on multiple SCU infringements. Bruescke and Edsall continue to manage the attack. A penalty 5 meters out set the stage for Compton. Bruescke tapped the ball and found Comptom barreling through the Santa Clara defense for the Cardinal's fourth try of the day. SCU would post two additional tries at the end of the match, converting all seven of their tries.

Countless moments of resilience and brilliance were witnessed by all those in attendance. Ample minutes by rookie players will serve the Cardinal well over the competitive season which kicks off this month.    

Stanford will not face Santa Clara in the regular season as Santa Clara is in D1A; a division higher than the Cardinal. The Cardinal will travel to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday January 18th for a final preseason match next Saturday followed by they're first league match away at American River College on Janaury 24th. 

Follow @stanford_rugby to check out clips from the Try of the Week.
 

Stanford Men's Roster vs Santa Clara

1. Nolan Pierce
2. Connor Slattery
3. Caleb Compton
4. Connor Mehaffey
5. Nicholas Woehrle
6. Ben Felter
7. Anders Luffman
8. Diego Burgos
9. Leiden Brueschke
10. Riley Elliot
11. Su Reh
12. Arturo Kupfer
13. Jeff Edsall
14. Armando Borda
15. Patrick Kennedy
16. Terry Guo
17. Patrick Straw
18. Travis Senf
19. Praven Sundar
20. Ryan Mago
21. Charlie Abowd
22. Leo Campos Yu

Conversions:
none