ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Central Washington men's rugby used a strong offensive start and a dominating second-half defense to secure a 62-17 victory against Cal Poly in the opening round of the D1A National Championships, Saturday at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
The Wildcats (7-4) will next play No.1-ranked Cal in the West Regional semifinals, Saturday, April 16 in Berkeley, Calif.
 
Central scored the first 33 points of the match, then limited the Mustangs to just one try in the second half after Cal Poly had gathered momentum in the final minutes of the first half.
 
"We started well in terms of taking the opportunities that were presented to us," CWU head coach Todd Thornley said. "That took some of the pressure off. Credit to Cal Poly for responding and getting creative and finding space behind us late in the first half. Our defense in the second was better and we seemed a little more eager to get the right spacing. There are plenty of learnings out of this one and I'm happy to see the guys finally get one at home."
 
Steady winds near 30 mph threatened to interfere with the playoff match, but the Wildcats were more than ready for both Cal Poly and Mother Nature.
 
Central didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard, as Campbell Robb scored the first try in the fifth minute.
 
Robb found the try line again in the 12^th minute to extend the lead, and Jack Tregoning's conversion attempt was good, giving the Wildcats an early 12-0 lead.
 
Less then two minutes later, Jack Wendling ran nearly untouched from the midfield for a try. The Tregoning conversion made it 17-0.
 
The lead swelled to 26-0 for the Wildcats in the 26^th minute when Albert O'Shannessey crossed the try line, and Tregoning connected on the conversion.
 
Jonah Auvaa capped the first-half scoring in the 27^th minute. The conversion gave Central what seemed to be an insurmountable 33-0 lead.
 
But the Mustangs didn't go away. Cal Poly closed the half with two trys in a five-minute span, trimming Central's lead to 33-10 at the break.
 
The Wildcats used their defensive superiority to regain control of the match in the second half, while the offense kept pouring it on. Trys by Marques Fuala'au, John Dupree, Conner Grande, and Mitchell Hirose pushed CWU's lead to 55-10.
 
Cal Poly finally got back on the scoreboard in the 72^nd minute, but Kenny Pasion added one last score for the Wildcats before the final horn to secure the victory for Central.
 
Start time for next week's regional semifinal at Cal will be announced at a later date.