EDMONTON – While it wasn't the senior night they'd hoped for, the Pandas (1-5) gave a good account of themselves in a back-and-forth match with the Lethbridge Pronghorns (4-2), falling 34-26 in the end.
The Pandas saw their four tries scored by four different players, while the duo of Zina Umeh and Charli Helland did most of the damage for Lethbridge, accounting for 25 points between them.
In the final rugby match at Foote Field in 2026, it was the Pronghorns who got on the front foot first, and they struck within five minutes. After working the ball to the outside deep in Pandas territory, Sydney McDonald came close to punching it into the try zone along the sideline. But while she was stopped inches from the goal line, Ashlee Izekor took advantage by picking up the ball and diving across for the score. Umeh then doubled the advantage in the 12th, racing through the defence for an impressive try.
Not to be deterred, Kaitlin Tetteh-Wayoe responded with a highlight of her own before the opening 20 minutes was up, dragging a defender with her into the try zone after leaving multiple others in her wake. Kate Alcock's successful convert cut the deficit to three, putting the Pandas right back in the match.
The high-scoring first half continued unabated, first through Umeh scoring her second try of the night. The two teams then traded tallies within a span of just three minutes, first from Alberta forward Jorja Inglis who capitalized following a good burst by Mayeling Henry Rodriguez from a Pronghorns penalty. Helland then struck right back, however, finishing off a try on the visitors' next foray forward.
The Pandas thought they'd gotten the final laugh of the first half when Henry Rodriguez punched in a try just a couple minutes before the halftime break, but the duo of Umeh and Helland combined once again for one more Lethbridge try on the final play before the whistle. Failed conversion attempts continued to be a theme for the road team, however, leading to them being up by just five points at the break despite scoring two more tries.
Both coaches clearly had defensive adjustments as the focus of their halftime talks, as after 48 combined points in the first half, neither team scored for nearly the first 25 minutes of the second.
Fiea Marsh came close to breaking off a massive run for the Pandas, but was stopped in her tracks by a big tackle from Umeh near midfield. The Calgary native then showed her attacking skills not too long after, scoring her third try of the night for the Pronghorns to put them up by 13.
The Pandas weren't ones to let go of the rope, and fought back with a try for Eve Starchuk with just over 10 minutes to play. That was as close as they would get, however, and it was the Pronghorns who ended the night victorious.
In addition to winning the match, Lethbridge also claimed the Suggitt Cup by virtue of boasting the better aggregate score across the teams' two meetings this year. Named in honour of the late Ric Suggitt, former coach at both Alberta and Lethbridge, it was the Pronghorns who lifted the trophy after the match for the sixth time in series history.
Scoring Summary
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1
|
2
|
F
|
|
ALB
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21
|
5
|
26
|
|
LET
|
27
|
7
|
34
|
First Half
5' LET - #3 Ashlee Izekor Try (Convert Missed) 5-0 LET
12' LET - #15 Zina Umeh Try (Convert Missed) 10-0 LET
18' ALB - #8 Kaitlin Tetteh-Wayoe Try ( #15 Kate Alcock Convert) 10-7 LET
25' LET - #15 Zina Umeh Try (Convert Missed) 15-7 LET
29' ALB - #1 Jorja Inglis Try (#15 Kate Alcock Convert) 15-14 LET
32' LET - #8 Charli Helland Try (#10 Jayda Morrison Convert) 22-14 LET
38' ALB - #16 Mayeling Henry Rodriguez Try (#15 Kate Alcock Convert) 22-21 LET
40' LET - #8 Charli Helland Try (Convert Missed) 27-21 LET
Second Half
63' LET - #15 Zina Umeh Try (#10 Jayda Morrison Convert) 34-21 LET
69' ALB - #22 Eve Starchuk Try (Convert Missed) 34-26 LET
