Rugby sevens captures OCAA silver medal

By: Nina Kersnik
Humber Athletics Communications

CAMBRIDGE –  Humber rugby sevens captured their second OCAA Silver in program history on Oct. 25 at Fountain Street Soccer Complex, after a 34-0 loss to the Durham Lords. Isabella Mcphee and Meghan Aucoin were named to the all-tournament team.

Gold medal match (Durham 34, Humber 0)

In the biggest match of the day, Humber knew they'd be in for a challenge in their journey to capturing the gold medal as they faced the Durham Lords. The Lords, who came into the match red-hot, not only topped the conference with a 14-0 record, but they had been named the reigning champions for three consecutive seasons.

The Hawks, who came into this match after two wins from earlier in the day, hoped to continue that momentum into this one and rewrite the narrative – but they could only dream.

Right from kick-off, Humber turned a complete 180 from what the crowd witnessed in their last two matches. Within seconds, the Lords showed they didn't come to play around, and with a couple of physical tackles, they quickly made their way into Humber's offensive end. From there on, the Hawks' defence crumbled, allowing Durham's Amber Edgerton to run through an open lane to the try zone.

Humber, who were looking to get out of their own end, attempted to get away from the Lords with a few plays. But a couple of miscues from the Hawks, Durham capitalized on the turnover, sending in Edgerton who dove into the left sideline, awarding the Lords with back-to-back tries.

Shy of four minutes on the clock, Durham would take a 10-0 lead.

Now in the final minutes of the half, it was clear that the Lords had taken full control, as they gained possession at midfield once again. It only took two clean backward passes for Edgerton to come in flying for her third, giving no chance for Humber's defenders to catch her.

Soon after a reset near midfield, the Hawks maintained possession for a few moments; however, they would lose it to Durham again after more miscues. Thus, the Lords capitalized on that opportunity to score their fourth try, this time by senior Daniella Kimevski. She single-handedly caught the rock from Edgerton to fly down the left side and cut into the middle to plant it. The Uxbridge, Ont. native has well over 50 points in her first season as a Lord.

After seven, the Humber was down by a score of 20-0.

Not long into the second half, the Hawks took possession of the rock but fumbled it, losing a scoring opportunity to Durham's Taylor Wood. She would score her first of the game and the Lords fifth to put her team up 27-0.

As time wound down, Durham would go for one more with a sixth try and second conversion, to close out the game 34-0.

With the loss, the Hawks would be sent home with silver, for the Lords to be crowned champions for the fourth straight year.

Semi-final match (Humber 24, Conestoga 19)

In their second match of the day, Humber faced off in a battle of the birds against the hosting team, the Conestoga Condors, who finished their season 13-4.

Right from kick-off, Humber continued the momentum from their first match into the second to work quickly and score a try less than a minute in. It was scored by Meghan Aucoin, who ran into open space after her team fought through some hard tackles to bring play into the offensive zone. The OCAA Defensive Player of the Year scored Humber's first try of the match, and her fourth of the day.

With Conestoga now in search of an equalizer, fifth-year Abbey Anderson faked a drive to the left and cut right through Humber's defenders to land the Condors first try. To gain an even larger lead, the Waterford, Ont. native punted the ball through the uprights for two more points.

Soon after the referee called a foul halfway between midfield, giving Conestoga the opportunity to gain possession. After a few tough tackles, second-year Anita Benn would pick up the loose ball and toss it to rookie Michelle Schneider. She took a hard dive over the try line to put the Condors up by another five.

By the final whistle, the Condors would lead with a score of 12-5.

In the second half, Conestoga continued to ride that high keeping the Hawks back for as long as they could. Eventually the blue and gold found their rhythm to break free to fly deep into Condor territory, for Isabella Mcphee to take the final handoff. The Brampton native shed a couple tackles before being pushed down by a Conestoga defender in the zone for the try. Moments later Meghan Aucoin punted the conversion to tie it up at 12.

Minutes later, the Condors fought back and capitalized on a scoring opportunity by the try line after a couple miscues from Humber's defense. By the end of the play Conestoga ended up clawing their way back up to lead by seven.

With not much time left until the end of regulation, the Hawks refocused to answer back with a try of their own. This time it was rookie Khyre Jackson who broke free to sprint into Condor territory before getting tackled. It took Humber three more passes to hand it off to rookie Leah Lebo who shoved off a defender before diving below the posts for another five points. Then as seconds remained, Meghan Aucoin delivered for the Hawks once more, scoring the conversion to tie it up and send the game into sudden death.

As the five allotted minutes drained from the clock, both sides clashed in tough tackles to gain some ground on the opposing team's side. Even with Conestoga's effort, Jackson delivered once more as she outran the Condors to score Humber's fourth. The Mississauga native, who now has 20 points in her first season with the Hawks, made the biggest play of the day to win it for Humber, 24-19.

With the win, the Hawks move on to the gold medal match for a contest against the reigning champions, the Durham Lords.

Khyre Jackson also earned Player of the Game for her tie-breaking try that sent the Hawks to their first gold medal match since the 2021-2022 season.

Quarter-final match (Humber 25, Algonquin 5)

 In their first game of the day Humber started out quickly to make themselves known, as they played against the sixth ranked team provincially, the Algonquin Wolves (3-11-1).

Meghan Aucoin opened the game with a try for the Hawks with just under two on the clock, as she moved left with some fancy footwork to plant one by the left sideline.

Algonquin then gained ground multiple times to try and answer back, but the Hawks locked in to keep them well away from their zone.

In the final minute of the half, Humber created a push up into the offensive zone with a team effort, despite the Wolves' many attempts to rip away at the ball. The Hawks answered with a couple passes, for Mara De Mello to swerve toward the left sideline, and slide into the try zone. With 15 points altogether in tries, De Mello landed her first of the postseason to put the Hawks up 10-0, closing out the half.

After the break, Humber would use speed to their advantage to strike quickly with Aucoin scoring her second of the match just 40 seconds in. However, the Hawks didn't get that same luck on the conversion, keeping the score at 15-0.

Soon after, Humber would double down on their lead with back-to-back tries. This time it was scored by winger Isabella Mcphee, who received an easy pass by rookie Sophia Regts. Mcphee then made a run into the zone for the Hawks' fourth, but the conversion would be missed once again.

In the 12^th minute, a scrum in the Wolves' zone gave Algonquin possession allowing them to gain some ground into Humber territory. However, the Hawks remained locked in and moved quickly for Aucoin to fake a run to fly down the right side instead and score her third of the match.

With time ticking down, the Hawks thought they'd end their first of the day with a sweep. Despite their large lead, the Wolves bit back to earn their first score by rookie Ava Raymond, who would count this one as her first as well.

As the final whistle blew, the Hawks would win it, 25-5 to advance to the semi-finals for a matchup against the Conestoga Condors.

Meghan Aucoin earned Player of the Game for helping the Hawks move on to the next stage with her three tries.

Humber Highlights

• This is the first time Humber has won an OCAA silver medal since the 2017 season.
• This is head coach Dale Essue's second silver medal and the sixth provincial medal with the team.
• In his ninth season coaching rugby sevens, Essue earned the 2025 OCAA Coach of the Year.
• Aucoin leads Humber with 18 tries and 20 converts this season for a total of 130 points.