CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's rugby team could not exact revenge in a Battle of Alberta rematch and dropped their home opener versus the Alberta Pandas 28-7 on Friday evening at McMahon Stadium.

Alberta improves to 2-1 on the year, with Halle Walters leading the way, scoring a pair of tries. Grace Eagleton registered the lone Dinos try of the night as Calgary suffered their second setback in as many matches to begin the season.

"We started out a lot better than we did in the first game this year. There were a few mistakes on our end and things we have worked on that we didn't execute as we should, but the effort was there," said Dinos head coach Simon Chi. "We have a young group that is still learning; we just need to keep moving forward and building on that. We put a lot of effort into the breakdown and holding onto the ball; we want to be more proactive about playing in the right parts of the field."

The Pandas came out ready to roll with their first try in the eighth minute, scored by forward Cassie Mann. She received the ball from the ruck and pushed her way through Dinos' defence with the assistance of Molly Stetsko.

From across the field, Walters scored the Pandas' next try. She received the ball down the line to the right side of the field, hit the gas, and zoomed past the Calgary defenders for a clean try on the far-right side of the try zone.

Stetsko completed the Pandas' third try of the first half, moving forward with teammates to push over the line. The halftime score was 15-0 Alberta. 

Eagleton scored her first try of the season early in the second half with a breakthrough up the middle to get across the line. Allysen Stachiw completed the conversion to cut the deficit to eight. 

Kate Alcock immediately replied with a completed penalty goal in the 49th minute. 

Walters scored her second try of the night for the Pandas in the 66th minute. Walters received a pass from Bea Herrera that sent her down the right sideline and into the try zone.

In the 70th minute, Stella Henry Rodriguez found an opening around a ruck on the try line to round out the scoring. 

"Over the next couple weeks, we want to work on closing those gaps and start to believe that we can win these games." Stated Chi after the game.

The Dinos will welcome the Lethbridge Pronghorns to McMahon Stadium in their next game on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

Alberta will travel to the West Coast next weekend, beginning with a matchup against the Victoria Vikes on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m.

         1     2     F
ALB  15  13    28 
CGY  0    7     7

First Half
8' ALB – Cassie Mann try (convert unsuccessful) – 5-0 ALB
22' ALB – Halle Walters try (convert unsuccessful) – 10-0 ALB
40' ALB – Molly Stetsko try (convert unsuccessful) – 15-0 ALB

Second Half
42' CGY – Grace Eagleton try (Allysen Stachiw convert) – 15-7 ALB
49' ALB – Kate Alcock penalty goal – 18-7 ALB
66' ALB – Halle Walters try (convert unsuccessful) – 23-7 ALB
70' ALB – Stella Henry Rodriguez try (convert unsuccessful) – 28-7 ALB

-UC-