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The Gentlemen of Aspen play the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits in the semifinals of the men’s open division at the 52nd annual Ruggerfest tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at Wagner Park in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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The Gentlemen of Aspen play the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits in the semifinals of the men’s open division at the 52nd annual Ruggerfest tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at Wagner Park in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
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The Gentlemen of Aspen play the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits in the semifinals of the men’s open division at the 52nd annual Ruggerfest tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at Wagner Park in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The Gentlemen of Aspen Rugby Football Club will miss the Ruggerfest finals for the first time since 2014 after losing in the semifinals on Saturday night. The Gents lost 29-22 to the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits at Wagner Park, a rematch of the past four Ruggerfest finals.
Aspen trailed 5-0 early in the match, but took a 7-5 lead into the halftime break after scoring a try with about four minutes to play in the first half. The second half was a back-and-forth shootout, with Aspen rallying to take a 14-12 lead barely five minutes in thanks to a big defensive play.
The Misfits answered with a try only three minutes later, but the Gents opted for a penalty kick with about 10 minutes to play that made it 17-all.
The next few minutes belonged to the Misfits, who scored twice in about four minutes to take a 29-17 lead with less than three minutes to play. Aspen did get one try back in the final minute before running out of time.
The teams had played in the Ruggerfest finals the past four years, with the Misfits winning in 2016 and 2017. Aspen won in both 2015 and 2018.
The 2019 final, which will conclude the 52nd annual Ruggerfest tournament, will be between the Misfits and Ruggerfest newcomer NA Rugby. That game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at Wagner Park.
NA Rugby beat the Misfits in pool play on Saturday, 22-7.
Aspen, which went 3-0 in pool play, will play the Glendale Merlins in the third-place match at 9:15 a.m. Sunday. The Gents beat Glendale in pool play on Saturday, 22-10.
The women’s open division final, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Wagner, will be between the Sister Wives and Kougars & Kittens. Sister Wives won their pool play matchup, 22-0.
The remainder of the divisions also play finals on Sunday. The Masters final between the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits and Time Rugby is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. The 55s final between the Cardinals and the VOMITS starts at 10:15 a.m.; the 45s final between the Cardinals and the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits is set for 11:15 a.m.; and the 50s final between the KC Blues Brothers and the Cardinals is at 12:15 p.m.