WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Axewomen rugby team opened the AUS regular season with a convincing 58-12 win over the visiting UPEI Panthers.
The Panthers, who challenged the Axewomen last season in a close 24-17 semi-final win by Acadia, fell short in their 2017 season debut.
In the opening minutes of the game, senior Axewoman Angela Govier fought her way to the try line for the first of 10 Acadia trys.
Subway Player of the Game, Laura Pfleiderer, posted two trys and a conversion.
Most of the points scored by the Axewomen in the first half were spread among the veteran players including one try each for Danielle Wisen, Tamara Dondi and Natasha Johnson.
Sophmore fly-half, Annie Kennedy, posted the opening try of the second half. Kennedy added three conversions on the day.
Second year Axewomen, including Monique Coffey, Rebecca Campbell, Harley Tucker and Pfleiderer each posted a try in the second half.
Late in the game, the Panthers broke the "goose egg" with an Aryna Rogers try at the 72nd minute. Alysha Corrigan converted the try. Panther Kalie MacKinnon added a second try in extra time.
While the win was a positive aspect of the opening weekend, head coach Matt Durant noted the need to keep improving.
"We still have lots of areas to improve. Some first year players like Lauren Melanson and Emilie Merilainen had a great game and our veterans were solid," said Durant.
"I thought we could have done better defensively and our body position in contact was too high. Overall, I was pleased with our game one performance thought," concluded Durant.
The Axewomen head to Saint Mary's next Sunday at 2:00 p.m., while the Panthers host the 2016 U SPORTS champion StFX.
Scoring Summary:
1st Half
ACA – 3 min. – Angela Govier unconverted – 5-0 ACA
ACA – 13 min. – Laura Pfleiderer converted by Annie Kennedy – 12-0 ACA
ACA – 23 min. – Danielle Wisen unconverted – 17-0 ACA
ACA – 29 min. – Tamara Dondi unconverted – 22-0 ACA
ACA – 37 min. – Natasha Johnson unconverted – 27-0 ACA
2nd Half
ACA – 41 min. – Annie Kennedy converted by Kennedy – 34-0 ACA
ACA – 52 min. – Monique Coffey converted by Annie Kennedy – 41-0 ACA
ACA – 63 min. – Rebecca Campbell unconverted – 46-0 ACA
ACA – 66 min. – Harley Tucker converted by Laura Pfleiderer – 53-0 ACA
UPEI – 72 min. – Ayrna Rogers converted Alysha Corrigan – 53-7 ACA
ACA – 77 min. – Laura Pfleiderer uncoverted – 58-7 ACA
UPEI – 90 min. – Kalie MacKinnon unconverted – 58-12 ACA