VICTORIA – Facing a nationally ranked opponent for the second consecutive game, the Lethbridge Pronghorn women's rugby team sprinted out to an early 10-0 lead but could not hold off the #7 ranked Victoria Vikes, with a convert being the difference in a 17-15 set back.

Despite the cold and rainy conditions, it was the nationally #10 ranked Pronghorns that looked comfortable early. 

Three minutes in, Hailey Driscoll scored one of her two tries on the evening. Unfortunately for the Pronghorns, Caitlin Sears missed all three convert kicks.

Genna Wright added her first try of the season 13 minutes later with a dive into the left corner.

It took 22 minutes for the Vikes to cross into Pronghorn territory, but when they did, Jenn Appleby put the Vikes on the board with her second try of the season.

Driscoll wasn't done and opened the second half with her second try after the Pronghorns forced a turnover at midfield.

The Pronghorns defence was stingy and didn't give up anything without a fight. Several times, the Vikes had the ball deep in the attacking zone, but the Pronghorns strong team defence and solid tackling kept the Vikes at bay.

After eight minutes of zig zagging along the Pronghorns' goal line, Renee Gonzales stuffed one in at the 56-minute mark.

Appleby pulled off her second try on the evening and this time Maddy Aberg connected on the convert for the winning score with 14 minutes remaining.

"The girls played hard in a really tough battle. We were leading but lost possession too many times to win," said Pronghorn head coach Neil Langevin. "I was happy with our defence as weathered lots of possession by the Vikes."

"We are in tough on Sunday and our conference continues to demonstrate competition and parity."

The Pronghorns (1-2) have a day to prepare for a bout with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Sunday, Sept. 29, while the Vikes (4-0) are off until Oct. 6 when they take on the Thunderbirds (1-2) in Vancouver.

Scoring summary

LET 10-5--15
VIC 5-12--17

First half

3' – LET try – Hailey Driscoll (Caitlin Sears convert missed) – LET 5-0
16' – LET try – Genna Wright (Caitlin Sears convert missed) – LET 10-0
24' -  VIC try – Jenn Appleby (Maddy Aberg convert missed) – LET 10-5

Second half

46' – LET try – Hailey Driscoll (Caitlin Sears convert missed) LET 15-5
56' – VIC try - Renee Gonzales (Maddy Aberg convert missed) LET 15-10
64' – VIC try – Jenn Appleby (Maddy Aberg convert) VIC 17-15