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Glenwood notches win in defensive struggle

Bryce Evans
Summit County Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Summit Daily/K.J. Hascall
ALL |

In a defensive struggle, the Gentlemen of the Blue Goose Rugby Club fell 14-3 to their rivals from Glenwood, Saturday at Kingdom Park.

In only their second match of the season, the Blue Goose had little expectations when they hit the pitch.

“We have a new team with a lot of new guys, and our main goal is just to keep improving,” head coach Peter Clarke said before kickoff. “We’ve only had a couple of chances to play together, and we need to start to jell. Obviously, though, we want the win.”



The Blue Goose stormed down the pitch early, drawing a penalty against Glenwood resulting in a free kick. Braden Shoop blasted the ball through the uprights for an early 3-0 Breckenridge lead.

It would be the last time that the Blue Goose put any points on the board.



After tight scrum play near the middle of the pitch, Glenwood broke a long try by Ben McCarthy, giving the visitors, after the successful conversion, a 7-3 lead.

The second half was more of the same defensively: little scoring, big hits. Nate Yannacone got the Blue Goose fired up in the first few minutes with a massive hit on a Glenwood player.

Both teams pounded down the field, gaining numerous chances to score. Neither team could capitalize on their chances until Glenwood’s Armando Herrera put the game out of reach with a try in the last minutes of the match.

“It was good to grab the win,” Glenwood head coach Bob Herrell said. “Our scrum downs were excellent. It was a sloppy game at various times, but was tight all the way until the end.”

The win may have eluded Breckenridge’s club, but the tight loss was a sign that the squad is on the right track, after a lop-sided loss to Aspen on June 7.

“We still need a lot of work,” Yannacone said. “It was a well-fought game, but I think that we beat ourselves a little bit. We need some more practices and we can get it together.”

Clarke reflects Yannacone’s optimism.

“I think that if we tighten up our set pieces, we will be in much better shape,” he said. “It’s just part of having a new team.

“We have a lot of young guys, and all of our guys are American. It makes it tough when you’re going against teams that are much more experienced. But as the summer progresses, we will get stronger as a team.”

Glenwood will host Aspen on June 28.


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