(ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - The CIS No. 2-ranked StFX X-Women remained perfect on the regular season with a 43-12 over the Acadia Axewomen in AUS rugby action Friday evening at Oland Stadium.
In front of more than 250 fans, the X-Women rode a second-half surge to their homecoming victory, outscoring the Axewomen, ranked eighth in the CIS, 33-7 in the final 40 minutes of the match.
"It was pretty good, but we didn't play to our full capabilities," Beckie Clark (Summerside, P.E.I.), a sophomore centre, said after the match.
"We had our ups and downs, but we started to play our 'X tempo' in the second half," she added.
In the 65th minute, Clark brought the pro-StFX crowd to its feet with a 70-meter dash for a try, which came after she intercepted an Axewomen pass attempt.
"I was very lucky," she said, when asked to describe the scoring play. "I decided to blitz it … thank gosh I got it. After that run, I needed a sub, but it felt so good," Clark added, with a laugh.
After a physical opening 40 minutes, the X-Women led 10-5 at halftime.
StFX tries from Emma Taylor (Scotsburn, N.S.), in the 20th minute, and captain Catharine MacKeigan (Toronto, Ont.), in the 31st minute, sandwiched an Acadia score from Michaela Haley, in the 23rd minute.
The X-Women opened the second-half scoring in the 42nd minute on a try from Zahra Batool (Waterloo, Ont.) as she broke through the Acadia defence for a dash across the try line. With a Sabrina McDaid (Scarborough, Ont.) convert, StFX led 17-5.
The Axewomen responded three minutes later, with a Clarissa MacDonald (Barrie, Ont.) try and Erin Beazley (Windsor, N.S.) convert trimming the X-Women lead to 17-12.
After tries from Jaelei Meyer (Carlyle, Sask.) and Joanna Alphonso (Ajax, Ont.), along with a McDaid convert, the X-Women led 29-12 by the 55th minute.
The Clark highlight-reel try and the second of the match for Taylor, the Subway player of the game, in the 65th and 79th minute, respectively, along with two more McDaid converts, gave the X-Women their 43-12 victory.
The Axewomen (3-2) return to action Saturday, Oct. 18, when they host the UPEI Panthers in Wolfville.
The X-Women (5-0) will host the Saint Mary's Huskies Sunday, Oct. 19, at Oland Stadium, in their final regular season match. Opening kick-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Source: StFX Sports Information