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Glenwood Springs — Stay focused, boys.

If three words - heard from the sideline - could describe Saturday's match-up between the Glenwood Defiance and Steamboat Springs rugby clubs, those would be them.

"We're playing fairly well at all aspects of the game," Defiance head coach Bob Herrell said at the half. "We're just not finishing off."

Like the afternoon sun beating down on the pitch, Defiance came out strong Saturday at Glenwood Park. Defiance's Morgan Harris - in at fullback for the day - said the team was poised and ready for a win to knock Steamboat from first place.

"We were feeling really good," he said. "We thought we could win the game. I think it was that way until the last 10 minutes when they stepped it up and we didn't."

Steamboat finished strong to defeat the Glenwood squad, 28-10, continuing the Steamboat Springs Rugby Club's regional dominance.

Herrell said strong kicking by Ben McCarthy and an "excellent" power game by Tom McKeown at No. 8 helped Defiance take a 14-10 lead against Steamboat at the half. McKeown - of Dublin, Ireland, one of 10 international ruggers playing for Defiance this summer - was named his team's Man of the Match.

"Tom had a lot of composure, a lot of maturity," Defiance team captain Armando Herrera said. "There was just outstanding play by him."

Going into the second half, Defiance had Steamboat Springs beat, Herrera said. But missed tackles and a focused Steamboat Springs team in the final 10 minutes proved too much for the home team.

"It was an even duel the first half then they came out the second half and scored," Herrera said. "They beat us plain and simple. : You can't teach the hunger and the want."

Overall, Steamboat captain JoJo Bucci was impressed with Defiance's performance.

"Glenwood has really stepped up over the years, especially with recruiting," he said. "They are much more competitive across the board. I have to give credit to Glenwood. They were up with 12 minutes to go. But our experience with all the boys and their heart paid off in the end."

McKeown reflected on Glenwood's loss.

"It could have went better," he said. "This was a big game for us, and a big disappointment. Earlier on, we could have put a few more tries away."

Stronger tackling and better game experience might have made the difference for Defiance, Herrell said.

"We had consistent problems with tackling : Poor tackling led to two long tries for (Steamboat) and they put on a 10-minute rush that we did not match," he said. "The biggest difference is they adjusted to the outside attack. And in the last 10 minutes, they decided to win at the end of the second half and we didn't."