TORONTO, Ont. - For the second straight season, Laurier are heading to the OUA men's rugby semifinals.

The purple and gold erased an early second-half deficit and scored 15 unanswered points to defeat the Toronto Varsity Blues 22-17 in OUA quarterfinal action Saturday night at Varsity Stadium.

The Golden Hawks struck first in the ninth minute when prop G Gentile powered over for a try.

Flyhalf Devonne Henry added the conversion to give Laurier an early 7-0 advantage.

Toronto responded just before halftime as Vijay Kuo found the try line and Liam Marshall converted, sending the teams into the break tied 7-7.

The Varsity Blues carried their momentum into the opening minutes of the second half. Ben Wallace scored a try in the 53rd minute to put the hosts ahead 12-7 and hand Laurier its first deficit of the evening.

The Golden Hawks answered almost immediately.

Ben Campbell crossed the line less than six minutes later, and Henry's conversion restored Laurier's lead at 14-12.

The second-year playmaker continued to take control of the match, extending the advantage with a penalty goal before adding a try of his own in the 64th minute to cap a 15-point Laurier run and build a 22-12 cushion.

Toronto refused to go away quietly. Justus Koch scored late for the Varsity Blues to trim the deficit to five points, but the Golden Hawks' defence stood tall over the closing stages to secure the playoff victory.

Henry finished with a game-high 12 points in the first-ever playoff meeting between the two programs.

Laurier advances to the OUA semifinals for the second consecutive season and will travel to London on Saturday, October 31, to face the second-place Western Mustangs at Alumni Field at 7pm.

Western finished the regular season with a 5-1 record and received a first-round bye.

The upcoming semifinal will mark the first meeting between Laurier and Western since 2017, which the Golden Hawks won en route to securing the program's first provincial medal.