January 18, 2025

Stanford Men's Rugby at UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA

Santa Barbara  68 - Stanford 12

Stanford Men's Rugby headed to Santa Barbara for a final preseason match up before the start of the D1AA conference season. 

The Gauchos generated early momentum posting six first half tries. The Cardinal's resilience shone through late in the half when Leiden Brueschke '28 spotted an opportunity around the scrum. The first-year scrumhalf attacked the edge and kicked the ball through advancing defenders. Patrick Straw '25 chased down the receiving fullback, gripping hold of his jersey as the Cardinal wall closed in. The fullback threw the ball backwards in the tackle to a fellow Gaucho. With his back to the tryline, the Gaucho center kicked the loose ball only to be snatched out of the air by Cardinal flyhalf Thane Brueschke '25. Senior Thane Brueschke dove in for the try followed by the conversion. 

Much to the delight of the traveling Cardinal cheering squad, this will undoubtedly be one of many series on the pitch involving the Brueschke brothers.

The Cardinal would concede additional tries to the Gauchos in the second half as they looked to continue to build their depth and experience. The preseason matches offered valuable playing experience for players new to the game and to various positional roles. Shout out to Curtis McGinity '25 for his first match of rugby in a Cardinal jersey. The former American football standout experienced the physical demands of a full 80-minute match for the first time. 

The Cardinal would finish the match with another try following a scrum in the attacking 22m. McGinity picked the ball from the scrum, drawing in three defenders to take him down. Leiden Brueschke quickly found fullback Taki Rifai in the overload for the try. 

Strong defensive efforts by the likes of Anders Luffman '25, Leo Campos Yu '28, Lucas Cavalieri '25, Jeff Edsall '25, and Hamza Alsamraee '25 will continue to carry the Cardinal forward this season. 

Stanford will not face Santa Barbara in the regular season as the Gauchos are in D1A; a division higher than the Cardinal. The Cardinal will kick off in the first league match of the season away at American River College in Sacramento, CA on January 24th, 2025 at 2:00pm.

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

Tries: 
Thane Brueschke
Taki Rifai

Conversions: 
Thane Brueschke

Stanford Men's Roster vs Santa Barbara

1. Obinna Ekeagwu
2. Hamza Alsamraee
3. Jawad Ibrahim
4. Travis Senf
5. Connor Mehaffey
6. Patrick Straw
7. Anders Luffman
8. Curtis McGinity 
9. Leiden Brueschke
10. Thane Brueschke ?
11. Su Reh
12. Jeff Edsall
13. Lucas Cavalieri
14. Thomas Adamo
15. Taki Rifai
16. Leo Campos Yu
17. Derek Buchanan