Kingston was rowdy this weekend, but the real Friday night party happened under the lights at Nixon Field.
On Oct. 24, Queen’s women’s rugby team won the OUA Championship at home after defeating the Guelph Gryphons by a whopping score of 61-21. The victory capped off an undefeated OUA season for the Gaels, who stormed through their six-game regular season and destroyed the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA semifinals.
The game opened with intense back-and-forth action, but Queen’s took the lead after Maddy Donnelly, ArtSci ‘26, broke out for a try just six minutes into the match. Six minutes later, Kennedi Stevenson, ArtSci ’28, broke through for a try, setting the tone for the Gaels with a 14-0 lead thanks to successful conversions on both by Lizzie Gibson, M.PL. ’26.
In the 15th minute, Guelph’s Emily Lenhardt scored a try to cut the lead in half. Seven minutes later, Mika Matsukubo, MPH ’26, found the scoresheet with a highlight-reel run. In the play right after, Stevenson scored her second try of the night, followed by an emphatic celebration as she gave the Gaels a 26-7 lead.
Guelph scored two tries in the last ten minutes of the first half to narrow the Gaels’ lead to 26-21—but that was as close as they would get.
Just five minutes into the second half, Tattyannah Jackson, ArtSci ’26, made her mark with a try, followed by a Gibson conversion to extend the lead to 33-21. From there, Queen’s momentum only grew. Guelph mounted a strong push, but a costly turnover in the 48th minute handed the ball to Stevenson, who sprinted 80 yards for a try, igniting the already ecstatic home crowd.
The rest of the game was all Gaels. A strong try-line effort from Maddy May, MSc ’26, was followed by another long dash from Matsukubo and a strong drive from Kyleigh Chandran, Kin ’27, each followed by conversions from Gibson to seal the 61-21 victory for Queen’s.
As the final whistle blew, the Gaels ran to hug each other and celebrate the fruits of a long, but dominant OUA season. The team was awarded the trophy and their gold medals, and Donnelly was named Player of the Game. Gibson and head coach Dan Valley were presented with their OUA Player of the Year and OUA Coach of the Year awards, respectively.
READ MORE: Queen’s women’s rugby takes 116-0 victory in OUA semifinals against Laurier
The matchup was a rematch of last year’s title game, which Guelph won on a last-minute try, making this year’s victory especially sweet for the Gaels.
“Anytime we beat Guelph, it’s a good day,” Donnelly said in a post-game interview with The Journal. “That rivalry is always such good rugby but bringing the trophy back home to Nixon after last year makes it that much sweeter.”
Gibson was flawless on conversions, knocking down eight of nine attempts, but the victory held even more significance for the rugby superstar in her final year at Queen’s. “It was a really good ending to the OUA season and my OUA career,” Gibson said in a post-game interview with The Journal. “What a team to do it with—I’m so proud of every single person.”
In her final game at Nixon Field, Gibson’s focus extended beyond her teammates. “It’s emotional knowing everyone shows up. People fly in from across the province to support their daughters and teammates,” she said. “The Queen’s family is truly a family, and the atmosphere at Nixon is electric. That’s what we feed off of.”
After his fourth OUA Championship in eight seasons as Gaels head coach, the experienced Valley felt proud—both of his players and the program as a whole.
“We have 25 people who get to pull on a jersey in an OUA final,” Valley told The Journal in an interview after the win. “But this is the reflection of the work of upwards of 100 people when you count our full squad and support staff, plus everyone in Athletics who helps us do what we do.”
While he’s happy with his team’s performance, it’s clear that Valley wasted no time in looking ahead to the big prize. “We’re going to try and bottle up everything we just did today and unload that,” Valley said of the upcoming U Sports Championship. “If we can do that three more times, we’ll put ourselves in a very good position to have a similar celebration.”
Notably, Queen’s may be forced to contend without OUA All-Star Jiggy Schonfeld, Kin ’27, who’ll likely be unavailable due to injury.
The win sent the Gaels to Vancouver, B.C., where the U Sports Women’s Rugby Championships began on Oct. 29. Queen’s already won their quarterfinal against the Acadia Axewomen by a score of 90-10. They’ll take on the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Oct. 31 as they seek a berth to the finals on Nov. 2.
Tags
Dan Valley, guelph grpyhons, kennedy stevenson, Lizzie Gibson, Maddy Donnelly, OUA championship, Women's rugby
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