X-Women fall to Gee-Gees in consolation semifinal

Vancouver, BC - The Ottawa Gee-Gees delivered a commanding performance to defeat the STFX X-Women 55-3 in the first consolation semifinal game of the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship, at Thunderbird Stadium.

From the opening whistle, the Gee-Gees applied relentless pressure. They opened the scoring in the first minute, with fullback Sydney Noseworthy crossing the try line for an early 5-0 lead. Fly-half Claire Bennett added the conversion.

The STFX X-Women showed resilience early on, getting on the board in the 11th minute with a penalty kick from Katie Murphy to narrow the gap to 7-3. However, any momentum for the X-Women was short-lived.

Just before the 20-minute mark, Sophie McDonald, who was later named Player of the Game for Ottawa, scored her first try of the match. Bennett's conversion restored the eleven-point lead. The Gee-Gees continued to press, with a try from Ngozi Mosindi sending them to the sheds with a 19-3 halftime lead.

Any hopes of an STFX comeback were quickly extinguished in the second half as the Gee-Gees unleashed an offensive attack. Ottawa ran in six unanswered tries by McDonald, Alysia Comtois, Noseworthy, Quynh-Ni Au, Grace Dingwall, and Camryn Holland.

Claire Bennett was instrumental in the victory, successfully converting five kick attempts to finish with a personal tally of 10 points from the tee.

While the result was not what STFX had hoped for, prop Jessie Penney was a standout performer, earning Player of the Game honours for the X-Women with a tireless defensive effort in a difficult contest.

The loss brings the 2025 season to a close for the STFX X-Women. They finish with an overall record of 6-2-1 (5-0-1 AUS).

With the victory, the Ottawa Gee-Gees advance to the U SPORTS consolation final, where they will play for fifth place on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST.

-30-

Nike Team Players of the Game:
OTT: Sophie McDonald
STFX: Jessie Penney

SCORING SUMMARY:

First Half:
1'         OTT     Try Sydney Noseworthy (Claire Bennett conversion)     
11'       STFX   Penalty goal Katie Murphy                                                 
18'       OTT     Try Sophie McDonald (Claire Bennett conversion)        
33'       OTT     Try Ngozi Mosindi  

Second Half:
38'       OTT     Try Sophie McDonald (Claire Bennett conversion)        
42'       OTT     Try Alysia Comtois
45'       OTT     Try Sydney Noseworthy
51'       OTT     Try Quynh-Ni Au (Claire Bennett conversion)                 
60'       OTT     Try Grace Dingwall
67'       OTT     Try Camryn Holland (Claire Bennett conversion)