Third-year Shelby Pierce scored two tries, including a winning one in injury-time, to vault the Alberta Pandas over the Lethbridge Pronghorns 22-20 Saturday night at Foote Field. It was the season opener for Alberta Pandas, who move to 1-0 in Canada West play, and the Pronghorns drop to 0-2 on the year.

It is the first conference win for a Pandas 15's squad since an October 12, 2018 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds. It also snapped a five-game Canada West losing skid against the Pronghorns.

Saturday night was the first leg of fifth annual Suggitt Cup, played in honour of former Pronghorn head coach Ric Suggitt, who passed away in the summer of 2017.

Ten minutes into the contest Horns fifth-year prop Savannah Collison punched in an unconverted try, her first of two on the day, for Lethbridge to go up 5-0 early.

The teams would jockey for field position until the 22nd minute when second-year Pandas flanker Morgan Smith ran a converted try in from the right flank for a Pandas lead. Seven minutes later third-year wing Cassie Jorgenson would call her own number on a two-on-two run for an unconverted try to put the Pandas up 12-5.

The Horns would respond just before the half with an unconverted try from Collison that would send the game into halftime with a slim 12-10 Pandas advantage.

It was an exciting start to the second half with Alberta's Pierce scoring a try at the 48th minute, and a Pronghorn response in the 55th when Verity Fex took a kick 50 metres to for an unconverted try.

It would be 17-15 Pandas until first-year Lethbridge wing Kenya Richards paced in an unconverted try in the 67th minute to put the Horns up 20-17.

That score would hold until some late game heroics from Pierce, who took a pass and ran down the left wing for the final and decisive try of the match. It was her second of the game, coming three minutes into the injury time period to lead Alberta to the 22-20 victory.

The teams will face-off again next week in the second leg of the Suggitt Cup, coming next Saturday evening in Lethbridge.

            1     2     F
ALB    12    10   22
LET    10     10   20


10' - Lethbridge Try - #1 Savanna Collison (Convert Missed); 5-0 LET
22' - Alberta Try - #6 Morgan Smith (#10 Kate Manning Convert); 7-5 ALB
29' - Alberta Try - #11 Cassie Jorgenson (Convert Missed); 12-5 ALB
40' - Lethbridge Try - #1 Savanna Collison (Convert Missed); 12-10 ALB
48' - Alberta Try - #8 Shelby Pierce (Convert Missed); 17-10 ALB 
55' - Lethbridge Try - #14 Verity Fex (Convert Missed): 17-15 ALB
67' - Lethbridge Try - #11 Kenya Richards (Convert Missed); 20-17 LET
80' - Alberta Try - #8 Shelby Pierce (Convert Missed); 22-20 ALB