The Varsity Blues (1-2) suffered their first home loss of the 2022 season Saturday afternoon, coming up just short against the Laurier Golden Hawks (1-1) 25-20 at Varsity Stadium.

Playing on a short-week, the Blues had a crowd of over 2600 people cheering them on, and it nearly helped them overcome a 25-9 second-half deficit.

Jumping out in front first, the Blues found their way on to the scoreboard in the opening quarter when Dante Mastrogiuseppe bombed a 45-yard punt into the end zone for a rouge.

The 1-0 lead held up for much of the first quarter until the Golden Hawks scored the first major of the game when Ben McAlpine hauled in a two-yard pass from Taylor Elgersma.

Early in the second, Laurier added to their lead with a 12-yard field goal from Dawson Hodge, after the Blues defence came up with a stop deep in their own end. Using the momentum of that stand, the Blues marched right down the field, capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run from Adam Williams.

With the opening half winding down, the visitors managed to regain their nine-point lead as Ethan Jordan caught Elgersma's second touchdown pass of the game with only 47 seconds to play in the quarter. Despite having little time left before the break, the Blues used some trickery with zeros on the game clock to sneak out an extra point. After making a reception near midfield, Jake Oseen booted the ball, on the run, into the Laurier end zone and then Toronto quarterback Kinsale Philips made the tackle in the end zone for the team's second rouge.

Opening the second half, the Golden Hawks would jump out to their biggest lead thanks to a touchdown run from Quentin Scott and a single point off a punt from Hodge.

Despite the deficit, the Blues continued to battle back scoring a touchdown with 3:33 to go in the third when Philips hit a diving Michael Lehmann in the back corner of the end zone.

In the final quarter, Sam Henke pulled Toronto within five on a 20-yard field goal. However, that was as close as the Blues would get.

For the home side, Philip finished the game 18 of 30 for 192 yards and a touchdown. Williams was the team's leading rusher, picking up 49 yards on 16 carries while also recording a touchdown. Catching the ball, Oseen's 60-yards receiving led U of T. Defensively, Dominic Ciraco led the team with nine tackles. Jackson Mayer recorded Toronto's only sack of the contest, while Blake Zarubiak had a forced fumble and Larauche Akoffou had the only interception of the game.

Looking to get back in the win column, the Blues will hit the road next weekend and head to Windsor to take on the Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on September 17.

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