Axewomen edge Panthers 24–19 to advance to AUS final, U SPORTS national championship

Acadia took control in the first half as Brielynn Murrant opened the scoring in the 11th minute, finishing under the posts with Sarah Gunn adding the conversion for a 7–0 lead.

Murrant struck again in the 26th minute to make it 12–0 for the host team. UPEI answered in the 33rd minute when Emily-Anne MacQurrie crossed to cut the margin to 12–5 at halftime.

The Axewomen extended their lead early in the second half as Olivia Savoie added a try in the 42nd minute to push it to 17–5. Five minutes later, Taryn McLachlan powered over and Gunn converted once again for a 24–5 advantage.

UPEI fought back as MacQurrie scored again in the 55th minute, with Lauren Misener converting to make it 24–12.

The Panthers pulled closer at the 80-minute mark when MacQurrie completed the hat trick with her third try of the game with Laurence Cormier adding the conversion, but Acadia closed out the final phases to secure the win.

Boston Pizza Players of the Game: 
Acadia — Taryn McLachlan
UPEI — Emma MacLean.

Scoring summary

First half:
ACA — Brielynn Murrant try (conv Sarah Gunn), 11'
ACA — Brielynn Murrant try, 26'
UPEI — Emily-Anne MacQurrie try, 33'

Second half:
ACA — Olivia Savoie try, 42'
ACA — Taryn McLachlan try (conv Sarah Gunn), 47'
UPEI — Emily-Anne MacQurrie try (conv Lauren Misener), 55'
UPEI — Emily-Anne MacQurrie try (conv Laurence Cormier), 80'

Next up: Acadia (4-2, 1-0 playoffs) travels to Antigonish to face the first place St. Francis Xavier (5-0-1, 0-0 playoffs) in the Bell AUS women's rugby championship game on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m.

The championship final will be available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

Both StFX and Acadia have now qualified for the 2025 U SPORTS women's rugby championship, hosted by UBC in Vancouver (October 29 - November 2, 2025).

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Recap and Photo courtesy of Acadia Athletics