(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - The StFX X-Women topped the Acadia Axewomen 24-17 in their final regular season matchup of the year. Despite the loss, the Axewomen remain atop the AUS standings with a 7-1 record.
The StFX win positioned both teams in first place with a 7-1 record and 1-1 records head-to-head, but Acadia's 44-13 over the X-Women in the season opener pushed the Axewomen up in the standings with the point differential in both meetings being +24 in favour of the Axewomen.
Acadia opened up the scoring in front of a Homecoming crowd of 689 fans with a Riley Kitchin try 13 minutes into first half. Converted by AUS MVP candidate Emilie Chiasson, the Axewomen pushed out to an early 7-0 lead.
The Axewomen stretched the lead to 12-0 on an unconverted Maddie Fray try with 18 minutes remaining in the half. StFX would reply late in the half on a long open field run by speedster Zahra Batool followed by a conversion by Sabrina McDaid to close the gap to 12-7.
Emilie Chiasson, who recently set a new AUS record for most points by an individual in a single regular season, left the game with a suspected knee injury and did not return.
Acadia's Allison Jordan scored Acadia's last try with under a minute remaining in the half to extend the Axewomen's lead to 17-7.
The X-Women scored 17 unanswered points in the second half as StFX's Catharine MacKeigan scored the first of three second-half tries. Six minutes after MacKeigan's unconverted try five minutes into the final half, Danielle Robb added an unconverted try to tie the game at 17.
With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the X-Women took their first lead of the game with a Lauren Agnew try, converted by Sabrina McDaid. StFX would hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game to hand Acadia their first loss of the season.
UPEI will be the site of next weekend's Subway AUS Women's Rugby Championship. The outcome of this Sunday's final regular season game between UPEI and Saint Mary's will shape the final schedule of the AUS championship.
UPEI will have to beat the Huskies by more than 33 points in order to finish in third place. Their last meeting was on Sept. 7 when Saint Mary's handed UPEI a 48-15 loss. Acadia will play against the conference's fourth place finisher.
Scoring Summary:
First Half
ACA – 27:00 - Riley Kitchin – try, converted by Emilie Chiasson
ACA – 18:00 – Maddie Fray – try, convert missed
StFX – 5:00 – Zahra Batool – try, converted by Sabrina McDaid
ACA – 1:00 – Allison Jordan – try, convert missed
17-7 at the Half
Second Half
StFX - 35:00 – Catherine MacKeigen, convert missed
StFX – 29:00 – Danielle Robb, convert missed
StFX – 10:00 – Lauren Agnew, converted by Sabrina McDaid
24-17 StFX over Acadia
Source: Acadia Sport Information