LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – The University of Calgary Dinos' dreams of a second straight podium finish at the U SPORTS rugby championship were dashed by a determined St. Francis Xavier X-Women squad Sunday afternoon, with X taking a hard-fought 22-12 battle to claim the national bronze medal.

After losing in overtime to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the semifinal matchup on Saturday, the Dinos were looking to capture their second consecutive bronze medal after defeating the Guelph Gryphons for third place last year.

The Dinos found themselves in a tough matchup facing the reigning U SPORTS national champion X-Women, who were upset by the Laval Rouge-et-Or in their semifinal. As expected, this match was a thrilling back-and-forth battle that was tightly contested for the full 80 minutes. 

The Dinos came out firing on all cylinders in the opening minutes, as two-time U SPORTS All-Canadian Temitope Ogunjimi produced a fantastic run on the far-right side of the field. After breaking past a couple StFX defenders, Ogunjimi scored her third try of the national tournament two minutes into the match. Elysa Sandron's convert would then go off the goal post and in to put the Dinos up 7-0.

The Dinos would continue to pressure StFX with a suffocating offense and a tight defense before StFX broke through for their first try of the match. The score, and a subsequent convert, came at the 20th minute and would tie the game 7-7. The momentum would then shift in StFX's favor, as they would score another try at the 27th minute of the match. After another successful convert, StFX would go ahead 14-7 which was the score entering halftime.

The Dinos would come out of halftime with the intensity they started the match with. After moving the ball deep into StFX territory, the Dinos would threaten the StFX try line for over five minutes. After continued goal-line stands and try saving tackles by the X-Women, Elysa Sandron would finally break through to score for the Dinos. This would trim the StFX lead to 14-12, before the X-Women scored a try six minutes later to retake a seven point lead, 19-12. 

The remainder of the match was a back-and-forth stalemate that saw both teams press the action. The Dinos would continue to fight for the equalizer, but outstanding defense by the X-Women would prevent the Dinos from scoring. After a late penalty to the Dinos with no time remaining, StFX would add a penalty marker to once again medal at the U SPORTS national championships. 

Sunday's game was the final time representing the Dinos in rugby 15s for a quintet of players who are wrapping up their eligibility, and it's an impressive list: DaLeaka Menin, Emily Tuttosi, Temitope Ogunjimi, Breanne Morgan, and Shannon Chisholm.

SCORING SUMMARY

First half
1' Calgary Temitope Ogunjimi Try – convert made (Elysa Sandron) 7-0
20' StFX Sam Lake Try – convert made (Danielle Franada) 7-7
27' StFX Sara Hoerig Try – convert made (Franada) 14-7

Second half
49' Calgary Elysa Sandron Try – convert missed 14-12
54' StFX Carleigh Walters Try – convert missed 19-12
80' StFX Danielle Franada penalty – 22-12

-UC-