WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The University of Calgary Dinos and the Laval Rouge et Or traded leads all afternoon, but it was the Rouge et Or who converted late and came away with a 28-22 victory in the first of four quarterfinal matches on Thursday at Raymond Field.
 
Véronique Gagné broke a 22-22 tie late in the second half with a pair of three-point penalty kicks to lead her team to victory.
 
The Dinos will now play on the consolation side of the bracket at the U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship and will face the Queen's Gaels for the second time in as many years. Laval advances to the semifinals for the second consecutive tournament and will take on St. Francis Xavier X-Women.
 
"It was a well contested game – we know it was going to be that way – there was some early jitters but we were in control in the first half," said Dinos head coach Simon Chi. "In the second half it was a battle and we made too many critical errors at the wrong time and that is what it comes down to at the playoffs."
 
Laval took the early advantage and cashed in as Player of the Game Marie-Laura Choquette scored her first of three tries on the match after just 2:12 of play.
 
Gagné's convert attempt failed, leaving the Rouge et Or with an early 5-0 lead.
 
Calgary came right back on the next possession, tying the score on a Taejah Thompson try at the 5:14 mark. Elysa Sandron's successful conversion gave the Dinos their first lead at 7-5.
 
"They came hard, we wanted them to have the ball more. The pressure from their defence made it so we could not find them with open space enough," noted Chi when asked about the performances by Thompson and Sandron.
 
Undaunted, Laval regained possession, and found the scoreboard again on a nice individual effort by Choquette. The conversion attempt failed, but Laval was back in the lead, 10-7 at 15:46.
 
Then it was Calgary's turn to once again grab the advantage. Sandron pushed a try across at 18:18, finishing off a frantic opening 20 minutes of play. Her conversion attempt failed, but the Dinos regained the lead, 12-10.
 
The teams went to their dressing rooms at halftime with the Dinos still holding a slim two-point lead.
 
Following the intermission, it was Calgary that came out strong, grabbing the early advantage and increasing their lead to seven points on a try credited to Erin Geddie just 1:24 into the second half.
 
Again, as was the story throughout a back-and-forth battle, Laval rebounded to even the score.
 
Éliane Côté scored a try at the 44:46 mark, and Gagné was good on the conversion to tie the score at 17.
 
The Rouge et Or continued to apply pressure, and were rewarded when Choquette notched her third try of the match for a 22-17 Laval lead at the 50-minute mark.
 
The Dinos then mounted a drive of their own, tying the score on an Alyson MacDougall try at 60:47. Sandron's attempt to give her team the lead was unsuccessful, leaving the score tied at 22 with time running down.
 
Laval moved the ball to within kicking range for Gagné, and the third-year performer made no mistake, splitting the uprights on a penalty kick to give Laval a lead it would not relinquish.
 
A little over four minutes later, Gagné added a second penalty kick to increase the lead to six.
 
"It is a new experience being on that side of the bracket," said Chi. "It is going to come down to pride as individuals and athletes and representing the school. I am sure our team will respond."
 
The Dinos play their next game on Saturday when they battle Queen's at 8:30 a.m. MT.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
CGY 12-10: 22
LAV 10-18: 28
 
First half
LAV – Marie-Laura Choquette try (conversion failed) 2:12
CGY– Taejah Thompson try (Elysa Sandron conversion) 5:14
LAV – Marie-Laura Choquette try (conversion failed) 15:46
CGY – Elysa Sandron try (conversion failed) 18:18
 
Second half
CGY – Erin Geddie try (conversion failed) 36:24
LAV – Éliane Côté try (Veronique Gagne conversion) 44:46
LAV – Marie-Laura Choquette try (conversion failed) 50:10
CGY– Alyson MacDougall try (conversion failed) 60:47
LAV – Véronique Gagné penalty kick 64:55
LAV – Véronique Gagné penalty kick 69:11
 
Players of the game
CGY: Taejah Thompon
LAV:  Marie-Laura Choquette