University of Arizona: Tucson, Arizona
In their third league game, and third consecutive road match the Aztecs pushed their record to 3-0 with a firm victory of the University of Arizona Wildcats 38-17. 

 The game featured a strong performance from the Aztec forwards who were strong in the scrum and dominant in the lineout to give the backs significant quality possession.   The deep three back unit also played well and were able to create multiple counter attacking opportunities from which they capitalized and also kicked well to keep the Wildcats backed up in their own end.

In the first half the Wildcats came out strong, reclaiming a loosed kick which led to sustained pressure and eventually an Aztec penalty.  Arizona elected to kick at goal and led 3-0 only 4 minutes in.  The next 20 minutes the Aztecs begin to exert pressure, but were repeatedly penalized for attacking penalties meters from the Arizona goal line, as Arizona defenders were quick to steal ball at the tackle.   Finally in the 25th minute fullback Alex Ross broke through in the right corner to give the Aztecs a 5-3 lead.  Only 7 minutes later, a fluid back line attack led to a Mike Hicks penalty which center Duncan Kelm converted, 12-3 Aztecs.  As the half winded down, the Aztecs turned over Wildcat ball and a switch move saw center Jamie Kelm crash over, his brother converted the try to give the Aztecs a 19-3 lead at the half.

In the second half early Aztec pressure was quickly reversed when an attempted chip kick was charged down and toed ahead by Wildcat backs, which they dotted down and converted to tighten the score at 19-10. It wasn’t until halfway through the second half that two consecutive Aztec tries by Dave Buboltz and Ryan O’Conner, one of which Duncan Kelm converted, in which the Aztecs had comfortably pulled away with a 31-10 lead.  With 10 minutes to go, another Aztec try by Tanner Kouba that Kelm converted brought the score to Aztecs 39-Arizona 10. In the dying moments Arizona All American center Peter Tiberio broke the Aztec line and offloaded to his Wildcat teammate for a converted try to make the final score 38-17.

For the Aztecs, the forwards stood out, in particular the work on Anton Mironov at the lineout, and Tanner Kouba in open play.  The deep 3 combination of Alex Ross, Chris Bredeson, and Mike Hicks was also very dangerous through out the day.  Head coach Matt Sherman was particularly pleased with the forwards play at the set piece, ‘Our forwards ability to exert pressure at the scrum and to consistently win ball at the lineout laid the foundation for a solid team performance.  I think we improved again from the previous week, and although were pleased to be 3 and 0, we will go straight back to work on improving and getting ready for another tough league match.’

In the B Side match, the Aztecs delivered a much improved performance to the previous week to deliver a comfortable victory of 19-5.  Tries by Dale Turori, Alex Colla and Zach Shapiro paved the way for the win.  Strong work by center Conner Reed and Andrew Castle also contributed significantly .

The Aztecs will play their 4th league game, and home opener against traditional league rival Cal Poly on Saturday 1/30.  The day will feature a full day of rugby at Field ENS 700 on the middle of campus:

11am: SDSU Division 3 vs. Westmont
1 pm: SDSU vs. Cal Poly (1st Side)
3 pm: SDSU vs. Cal Poly (2nd Side)

SDSU 38, Arizona 17

Min 4: Arizona Penalty
Min 25: Alex Ross Try
Min 32: Mike Hicks Try, Duncan Kelm Conversion
Min 21: Jamie Kelm Try, Duncan Kelm Conversion
Half: SDSU 19, Arizona 3

Min 42: Arizona: Try and Conversion
Min 57: Dave Buboltz Try
Min 62: Ryan O’Conner Try, Duncan Kelm Conversion
Min 69: Tanner Kouba Try, Duncan Kelm Conversion
Min 80: Arizona Try and Conversion
Final: SDSU 38, Arizona 17

 1 Brenden Purcell ; 2 Jeff Sparks; 3 Darrell Honaker 4 Alex Main; 5 Anton  Mironov; 6 Dave Buboltz; 7 Mike Shea; 8 Tanner  Kouba; 9 Jamie  Purcell (Captain); 10  Ryan O’Connor; 11 Chris Bredeson; 12 Jamie Kelm; 13 Duncan Kelm; 14 Mike Hicks; 15 Alex Ross; 16 Morgan Gagel;17 Zach Shapiro; 18 Scott Brown; 19 Tyler Kaushagen; 20 Will Pidd;21 Dale Turori 22 Marco Segura

B Side: SDSU 19, Arizona 5

Min 12: Dale Turori Try, Dale Turori Conversion
Half: SDSU 7, Arizona 0

Min 49: Alex Colla Try, Andrew Castle Conversion
Min 68: Zach Shapiro Try
Min 81: Arizona Try
Final: SDSU 19, Arizona 5

  
 1 Zach Shapiro 2 Devin Keller; 3 Morgan Gagel; 4 Kyle Quirk; 5 Scott Brown; 6 Adrian Torres; 7 Kyle Berchin; 8 Andrew  Hinkel; 9 Will Pidd; 10 Andrew Castle; 11 Alex Colla; 12 Conner Reed; 13 Dale Turori; 14 Marco Segura; 15 Joe Silvestri; 16 A.N. Other; 17 A.N. Other; 18 A. N. Other; 19 Tyler Khaushagen; 20 A.N. Other ; 21 Renzo Garcia; 22 Franky Vasquez