Santa Clara Upended by Gaels

Men’s rugby falls short, aims to reorganize for national playoffsIvan MunozTHE SANTA CLARAApril 17, 2014[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he previously one-loss Santa Clara University Touring Side was denied the California Conference crown after being handed its second loss of the season by Saint Mary’s College this past Saturday.“Against Saint Mary’s we got out to a hot start,” said team captain Michael Cunningham. “We had them on the ropes for the first 20 minutes of the game, but that is something we have to do for all 80 minutes. We never gave up. We kept fighting throughout the whole match.”Despite the loss, Santa Clara still has a chance to play for the national championship. The squad will look to regroup and prepare for an upcoming playoff run, which is scheduled to begin on April 19. SCUTS is slated to challenge Colorado State University at home the first round of the 2014 Division 1A Playoffs.Before Saturday’s defeat, Santa Clara was riding a three-game winning streak and had just come off a 32-31 road win over the University of California, Santa Barbara.Santa Clara jumped out to an early lead over the No. 1-ranked Saint Mary’s squad. Kyle Dunne scored within the opening moments of the match, putting the Broncos ahead 5-0. Moments later, the Gaels struck back and tied the game at 5.It was all Saint Mary’s from that point on. The Gaels increased their lead by seven, making it 12-5, and by halftime, they found themselves up by a score of 33-5.Saint Mary’s continued its dominant performance in the second half as well, eventually rolling to a 70-5 victory.“Saint Mary’s is the (No. 1) team in the country for a reason, but if we beat Colorado State, then we will see them again,” said Cunningham. “We have to improve our offensive attack for the next time we see them and do our best to disrupt their rhythm.”Santa Clara is currently ranked No. 8 on the Canterbury Division 1A’s Top 20 list. The Broncos will look to bounce back from this tough loss when they host the Rams from Colorado State this Saturday at Bellomy Field. Winning this weekend will punch the Broncos’ ticket to travel to Moraga, Calif., on April 26 for a rematch with the Gaels.“We need a good week of practice with high intensity,” said Cunningham. “We have to perfect our offensive pattern and come out on Saturday starving to win. We have to come out of the gate attacking on Saturday and impose our will from the get-go.” Ivan Munoz is a junior political science and English double major.