The Queen's Gaels (0-1) saw victory snatched away late by the Laurier Golden Hawks (1-0) in a 37-18 loss after turnovers proved costly in the final minutes.

Phoenix Grouse led the way for the Gaels picking up a pair of sacks and an interception on a big day for the defence in front of 1,144 fans in Waterloo.

With the Gaels leading 18-16 in the fourth quarter the Golden Hawks scored three touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

“We had a few turnovers late that really took the wind out of us,” says head coach Pat Sheahan. “There were a lot of lessons learned today on a lot of levels. We just need to have a little bit more of a better attitude on how to finish it and the team has to learn that.”

Neither team could get their offence going early and the hosts went into the half with a 9-8 lead, the Gaels’ Jonah Pataki scoring the only touchdown on a 2-yard run.

The Gaels made the most out of a Laurier fumble in the third quarter as quarterback Nate Hobbs found Matteo Del Brocco in the corner of the endzone for a 15-9 lead.

However, Laurier was quick to respond with a touchdown of their own to make it 16-15.

The Gaels regained the lead in the fourth as kicker Nick Liberatore nailed his first career CIS field goal, a 31-yarder making it 18-16 Gaels.

The Golden Hawks defence took over late in the game as Godfrey Onyeka picked off a Hobbs pass and took it all the way for a touchdown. The Gaels fumbled on the resulting kickoff, and Laurier struck again a few downs later to make it 30-18 Laurier. The Golden Hawks tacked on another major to make the final 37-18.

Week 2 has the Gaels on bye. They return to action on Sept. 10 when they travel to Guelph to take on the Gryphons. Queen's will then host the Western Mustangs to open the revitalized Richardson Stadium on Sept. 17 at 1 pm. The game will be televised on City. For tickets visit richardsonstadium.com.