City Champs Game 1 vs UCSD
The city championship tournament is an annual tournament where all collegiate teams in San Diego compete for the title of best in the city. This year the tournament format was 2 pools of 3. USD was drawn in a pool with the UCSD Tritons and the Mesa College Olympians. In the other pool was the SDSU Aztecs, the Mira Costa Spartans, and the Point Loma Sea Lions.
First job for the Toreros was UCSD, the tournament host. The Tritons would prove to be the toughest test all day. UCSD was very competitive and disrupted the breakdown constantly for USD. USD was able to jump out to a lead in the first half, as some impressive offensive play led to points. Scoring first for USD was winger Gabe DePaolo. DePaolo took a pass near the sideline and burst through several tacklers to score the first points. Soon after USD were back in opposition territory and prop Nick Classen found a gap and score and impressive try. UCSD would strike before halftime, leading to a halftime score of 12-7.
USD would strike first in the second half, with a quick tap penalty being spun out to outside center Mark Boschetti. The standout sophomore made a man miss and scored in the corner. The 17-7 lead was not safe, as UCSD stormed back to bring the score to 17-14. The final few minutes were tense, with UCSD having several good scoring opportunities. USD held on through strong defensive play and a very disruptive defensive lineout. Freshman Thomas Olson was a menace and did not allow UCSD to get any clean ball from the lineout, with Cameron Miller also stealing opposition lineout throws.
Final Score: USD 17- UCSD 14
Starting Lineup
Nick Classen
Clayton Cervantes
Ty Helfrich
Jonny Hale
Thomas Olson
Cameron Miller
Wyatt Darien
Darren Seward
Conor O’Shaugnessey
Cameron Wilmer
Gabe DePaolo
Isoa Moimoi
Mark Boschetti
Henri Vatinel
Jordan Sandoval
Substitutions
16. John Giltner (Cervantes)
17. Brandon Arriaga (O’Shaugnessey)
18. Michael Ramos ( Hale)
19. David Alba (Wilmer)
Scoring
Tries
Classen, DePaolo, Boschetti
Conversions
Wilmer 1/3