SHERBROOKE, Que. - A pair of tries by Carter Fillion helped the Bishop's Gaiters to a 10-10 tie with the Sherbrooke Vert et Or in RSEQ university men's rugby action on Sunday afternoon in Sherbrooke. The sophomore from Ridley College scored twice in the second half as the Gaiters came back from a 10-0 deficit to earn a share of the spoils in a game played in difficult conditions.

The wet and windy weather meant both teams strugged to generate solid offence in the first half, and kicked tatically, playing for field position. The only scoring in the half came on a penalty goal by the Vert et Or's Maxime Ditsch. The Gaiters had chances to score, but Long Tim Nixon (Hong Kong/West Island School) failed to convert a penalty from 35 metres out at the three-minute mark. Seven minutes later, Sherbrooke conceded a penalty 25 metres out, but it went for nought, as the Gaiters shanked a punt through the end zone.

The Vert & Or extended their lead to 10-0 in the 50th minute, after a solid maul that was set up from a lineout just inside the Gaiters' 22-metre line. Benoit Goyette scored the Sherbrooke try, with Ditsch making the conversion.

The Gaiters comeback started soon after, as rookies Andrew Harrison (Calgary, Alta./William Aberhart S.S.), Pat Giroux and Connor Labett all came on in the second half, along with veterans Nic Doyon, Gerald Lafond (Fulford, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville) and second-year scrum half Josh Bray (Lennoxville, Que./Bishop's College School). The changes made a huge impact and Bishop's went on to dominate possession and territory for the last half hour. Strong attacks by Carter Fillion, who also had his best game in purple to date on both sides of the ball, led to his two scores, in the 61st minute and again 10 minutes later. 

Unfortunately the Gaiters were unable to make either of their conversions on the night, as Patrick Lawton (Halifax, England/Queen Ethelburga's College) missed both in increasingly difficult conditions.

"On a wet day against Sherbrooke with their size and kicking ability I was pretty happy overall," said Gaiters' head coach Charles Goode. "No one likes a tie but we are moving in the right direction with defence, attack and set pieces.  Goal kicking is an issue, and it must improve if we are to compete in the playoffs."

Despite only leaving with two points, the Gaiters put in another solid defensive effort, holding their opponents to 12 points or less for the fifth straight game. Goode cited flankers Shayne Crawford (Lennoxville, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville) and Alex Charest and centres Ewan Lawton (Halifax, England/Queen Ethelburga's College) and Mike Izzard (Oakville, Ont./Oakville Trafalgar H.S.) as leading the way for Bishop's.

With the tie, the Gaiters are now 3-2-1 on the year, with 14 points, and are locked into second place in the "2-3-6" Division. They will host a quarterfinal against either ETS or Concordia on the weekend of Oct. 28-30. Sherbrooke, meanwhile is now 0-4-2. They close out the regular season at Concordia next Friday, and will visit either Concordia or ETS in the quarterfinals a week later.

Bishop's concludes the regular season on Saturday afternoon, as they host the undefeated Montreal Carabins (6-0-0) at Coulter Field. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.