Axewomen knock off CIS No. 1 X-Women

(ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - In a first-place clash between the top two teams in AUS rugby, the Acadia Axewomen (3-0) rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to defeat the CIS No. 1-ranked and defending national champion StFX X-Women (2-1) 32-29 at Oland Stadium in Sunday afternoon.

Fifth-year lock Ronnie Russell (Markham, Ont.) scored the game-winning try late in the second half to complete the comeback for the CIS No. 8-ranked squad.

"That's what impressed me most about the game," Axewomen head coach Matthew Durant said, when asked about the rally.

"We have a bit of a history with X that, when we get down, we kind of get down on ourselves and the girls give up a bit. We were down by 19 points at one point in the second half, but it is just a different mindset - the girls have been really feeling good about the team the last couple of weeks."

"It is just another important step forward for us, so we are glad to have the win," he added.

The X-Women, who led 24-10 at halftime, had not lost a home match since 2013. The Axewomen were also the opposition two years ago.

"I thought that, for the first half, that we played pretty well; we sort of had them on the ropes and then - for whatever reason - we stopped playing to our game plan and our work ethic went way down," X-Women head coach Mike Cavanagh said.

"You have to give full credit to Acadia - they never gave up and they kept coming stronger and stronger, and we kept fading and fading. Hopefully, it is a learning lesson and we will get better than this."

The visitors opened the scoring in the first half on a try from fifth-year scrum half Jenny Matheson (Halifax, N.S.) in the ninth minute.

The X-Women evened the match 5-5 when wing Sara Gandy (Truro, N.S.) took advantage of an Axewomen kicking error, corralling the ball and running in untouched for a try in the 14th minute.

In the 25th minute, fly half Sabrina McDaid (Scarborough, Ont.) took a quick kick deep in the Acadia zone before off-loading to Joanna Alphonso (Ajax, Ont.), who pushed forward for the final yardage to make it 10-5.

Acadia deadlocked the match three minutes later on a try from junior fly half Maddie MacKenzie (Peterborough, Ont.), when she broke free from the X-Women defenders.

With a late burst, the X-Women jumped to a 24-10 lead on tries from Alphonso and sophomore Catherine Rutledge (Halifax, N.S.), both in the 40th minute, along with a pair of conversions from McDaid.

At the start of the second half, StFX continued to carry the momentum as Alphonso raced for a highlight reel try to give her team a 29-10 edge in the 42nd minute. She came up with possession from 45 yards out and sped down the sideline before exerting her physicality near the goal line with a stiff arm on an Axewomen defender.

Senior lock Emma DeLory, in the 48th minute, started the Acadia rally with a try to trim the lead to 29-15. 

Four minutes later, junior Gillian Bergsma (Waterford, Ont.) helped spring her teammate Tamara Dondi (Caledon, Ont.) loose along the sideline. The junior fullback-centre raced for a try, which made it 29-20 for the X-Women.

With under 10 minutes remaining, MacKenzie scored her second try of the match. After a conversion from Matheson, the Axewomen cut the X-Women lead to 29-27.

In the 78th minute, Acadia completed the comeback when Russell dove in to give her team a 32-29 advantage, with what turned out to be the game-winning try.

During the Axewomen rally, a momentum swing came when Alphonso - the player of the match for the X-Women - left with an injured right calf.

MacKenzie, with her two tries, received Subway player of the game honours for the Axewomen.

The Axewomen will return to action Sunday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m., when they host the Saint Mary's Huskies in Wolfville.

The X-Women will attempt to get back in the win column when the UPEI Panthers visit Oland Stadium Friday, Oct. 2 for StFX Homecoming 2015. Opening kick-off is set for 7 p.m.

Source: StFX Sports Communications