November 17, 2025

Steuber Rugby Stadium
Stanford, CA

Stanford 19 - Santa Cruz 43
 

Stanford Men's Rugby faced UC Santa Cruz on Friday night to cap off the Alumni Weekend doubleheader amidst a crowd of alumni and fans under the lights. 

The first half of the match found Santa Cruz dominating possession and tallying tries as the young Cardinal squad found their footing. 

In the second half, Stanford Men's Rugby delivered a spirited comeback performance against a strong UC Santa Cruz side, ultimately falling 43–19 after rallying from a 33–0 halftime deficit. The first try found Club President Nolan Pierce '27 over the line after a pick from the ruck just a meter out. The second and third tries were assists from Leiden Brueshke to Patrick Kennedy. The latter coming from a cross field kick pass into the tryzone.

Facing the Banana Slugs that compete one division higher, the young Cardinal side showed impressive resilience. After a challenging first half, Stanford adjusted its defense and began to find connection on attack, outscoring Santa Cruz in the second period and closing the match with renewed confidence.

It was a promising glimpse into this rebuilding year following the graduation of a dozen seniors, as a wave of eager rookies stepped into key roles and began forging new on-field chemistry.

Stanford will not face Santa Cruz in the regular season as Santa Cruz is in D1A; a division higher than the Cardinal. Stanford continues preseason preparation ahead of conference play, focusing on building continuity and game understanding as it involves the rookie class on the pitch. 

The Cardinal will host the Stanford Rookie 10s tournament this coming Saturday, October 25, 2025 at Steuber Rugby. Our first year players, in their first month of the sport, will take the field against other new players from other schools. It will undoubtedly be a great day of learning and camaraderie. Follow us on Instagram @stanford_rugby for the schedule and game photos. 

Tries: Nolan Pierce, Patrick Kennedy (2)
Conversions: Patrick Kennedy (2)
 

Stanford Men's Roster vs UCSC

Nolan Pierce • Jaime Cano • Terry Guo • Ryan Mago • Ben Perez • Rohan Hartigan • Taki Rifai • Leiden Brueschke • Louis de Germay • Arturo Kupfer • Anders Luffman • Andrew Yang • Patrick Kennedy • David Taymazov • Dylan McAdams • Ihsaan Doola