The Marquette men's club rugby team won more than just its first match of the season on Sunday against the Marquette alumni team — they won bragging rights.

The Golden Eagles came out on top, 17-5, in the annual kickoff game against the alumni, which is intended for current Marquette players to see how they compare to some of the former.

"I was very impressed with our team's performance and positive enthusiasm against the alumni," said team coach Jim Harings, one of three new coaches along with Joe Cunningham and Joe Redding. "There are a few basic skills I noticed that we need to work on, but those will come with experience."

One of the areas Harings mentioned was team defense. He said this year the team was implementing a new style of defense which they haven't fully adjust to. Instead of crowding around the ball, they hope to try more of a spread out attack and work together as a team, he said.

A few of the players agreed with the need to improve on defense.

"Our defense bent but didn't break," Chris Lahr, a sophomore in the College of Business, said. "We won a few scrums, came up with solid counter plays and we have quick backs this year."

The alumni, dubbed "the old guys" by some of the current Marquette players, put up a good effort. But, in the end, the Golden Eagles were too quick.

Roughly 25 Marquette graduates from all over the country make up the alumni team, according to team member Chris Lynch, who graduated in 2002 from the College of Business. The team is mostly made up of graduates from the past ten years.

"I enjoy the alumni game because it's a way for me to give back what I took from the rugby program while I was here at Marquette," Lynch said.

Lynch said the alumni squad is "on and off" when it comes to competing with the undergrads. They have a bigger and more experienced team but are "almost always are out of condition," he said.

The club team counts on the alumni for funds and overall support. Both sides play to win in the annual match-up, but the game is not taken as seriously as other matches in the season.

Harings said that one of the team's strengths early on has been a good core of leadership. One of those leaders, team captain Dan O'Donnell, a senior in the college of Health Sciences, says the team's goal for the season is to make the playoffs. Harings agreed, saying this year's team can definitely make the playoffs.

There are eight games in the season before the playoffs, spanning towards the end of October. The team's next game is on the road against Wisconsin-Parkside on Sept. 11. They will return home to Kings Field, located at the intersection of 17th Street and Highland Avenue, on Sept. 25 when they face Wisconsin-Eau Claire.