Rugby Axewomen fall to upstart Panthers

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - A week after stunning the St. FX X-Women, the Panthers (2-0) came right back and took down the Acadia Axewomen (1-1)— a team that went undefeated in the regular season in 2021—38-5.

The start of the game was very much a feeling out process where both teams tried to gauge
what the opposing gameplans were. As a result, defence was at forefront and points were hard
to come by early on.

Twelve minutes into the game the Panthers were on the brink of scoring as they were just few
yards away from the try line, but Acadia's defence stood tall and denied them each time they
tried to break the line.

The Axewomen countered with a long run minutes later that took them down the field, only for
UPEI to stifle that threat.

But in the 29th minute, the Panthers broke the deadlock when Agustina Cohen (Halifax, NS)
spun the ball over to Brinten Comeau (Hammonds Plains, NS) who found some space, made a
move on a defender and fought her way the final five metres for the game's opening try.

Ten minutes later, Emily Duffy (Saint John, NB) scored her third try of the season, as she showed off her strength carrying defenders across the try line for the 14-0 halftime advantage.

The Panthers carried that momentum into the second half where the offence started to flow
much easier. Annika Wadlegger (Clearwater, BC) was the first to score just minutes into the
half. That was followed by a long run by MacKenzie Hale (Halifax, NS) in the 50th minute which
set the stage for a Ria Johnston try that pushed the lead to 28-0.

Like Acadia had done in the past, UPEI found success on the outside lanes where their backs
gained yards in bunches and consistently put them in great field position. Hale was at it again
five minutes later when she burst through the defence, allowing Frances MacWilliam (Mill
River, PE) to finish of the possession shortly after to extend the lead to 33-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Acadia took advantage of a Panther misplay and quickly scored to cut
the deficit to 33-5 behind Sarah Palfy's (Sexsmith, AB) try.

But the Panthers were just too much to handle, as Emma MacLean (Cole Harbour, NS) added
the team's sixth try of the afternoon for a 38-5 win.

The Panthers look to improve to 3-0 next Friday when they travel to Halifax to take on the Saint
Mary's Huskies, while Acadia hosts STFX in a finals rematch Saturday afternoon.