Queen’s Gaels have another shot at Laval in women’s rugby U-Sport – Kingston | The Canadian News

Queen’s Women’s Rugby opened the U SPORTS Championship at Nixon Field in Kingston, Ontario with a thrilling victory.

The Gaels, playing in the final quarterfinals of the tournament’s opening day on Wednesday, defeated the British Columbia Thunderbirds 33-26.

With the victory, Queen’s advanced to the semifinals, where they will face Laval Rouge et Or, who defeated the Acadia Axewomen earlier in the day 46-12.

Ottawa and Victoria won the other quarterfinal matches. The Gee Gees defeated St. Francis Xavier 40-12 and the Vikes defeated the Guelph Gryphons 21-10.

Last night, in front of a packed crowd on the Queen campus, Bridget Peros broke the deadlock for the Gaels with the game-winning try in the 64th minute.

“It was such a brave game,” said Peros, a fifth-year student from Oakville.

She credits Sophie de Goede with the game’s winning points.

“It was an amazing run for Sophie,” added Peros.

“He did all the work with a powerful career. At the last second, he passed it to me and I just took it for score. I’m glad Sophie was awarded the Most Valuable Player award. She is the best college player in Canada. “

de Goede, a fifth-year student from Victoria, BC, said the Thunderbirds, the champions of Canada-West, gave the Gaels everything they could.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match and that’s exactly what it was,” added de Goede, who played professional rugby last season in France when U-Sport canceled the season due to COVID-19.

“It was a routine until the final whistle, but we retired and now we have a chance to play Laval. They won us the gold medal in 2019 and now we have a chance to redeem ourselves. “

Friday’s semi-finals will begin at 5 pm with Victoria playing Ottawa. The Gaelics face Laval at 7.30pm

The two winners will play for the U-Sport gold medal on Sunday afternoon at 3.30 pm