The Sacramento State men?s rugby team had a strong first half against University of California, Berkeley, but struggled in the second half, losing 59-12 on Saturday.

The Hornets, 8-2, clinched a postseason berth after beating St. Mary?s College on Feb. 23.

The Hornets came out on fire in the first half, with Travis Taylor scoring the team?s first try in the first two minutes of play.

“Our main focus was to move the ball forward and play a fast-paced game,” Taylor said.

After Sac State took the early 5-0 lead, Berkeley bounced back, scoring the next two tries to establish a 12-5 lead.

Adam Macrae kept the Hornets in the game, scoring the Hornets final try with six minutes left in the first half. Call made the conversion to tie the score at 12-12. Berkeley fought back, scoring a try at the end of the half to put Cal up 17-12.

“We had a little momentum going in to the half,” head coach Justin Prichard said.

Berkeley dominated the second half, scoring six times while shutting down the Hornets? offense.

“Penalties were our biggest setback,” said Prichard. “We probably had twice as many penalties (than Berkeley).”

With two games left, the Hornets are in a battle for playoff position. Berkeley has a stronghold on the number one seed in the postseason, while the Hornets are now shooting for the second spot.

Prichard feels the Hornets have the potential to go all the way, but Prichard isn?t preparing for the postseason just yet. Prichard said he is “just looking at beating Davis.”

Hornets will play their final home game of the season against the University of California, Davis on March 9th at the intramural fields.

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