Denver Onyx defeat New York Exiles 53-13 in 2025 Legacy Cup
Women’s Elite Rugby’s inaugural season comes to a close as WER crowns first champion
EAGAN, MINNESOTA – The Denver Onyx defeated the New York Exiles in a 53-13 victory in the 2025 Legacy Cup, on Sunday, June 29 at TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minnesota.
The Exiles came out firing out of the gate and jumped out to a 10-0 lead sparked by a try from Misha Green-Yott at the 13 minute mark followed by a conversion and a penalty kick from Alyssa Cunningham.
The Onyx offense came alive with a try by Kapoina Bailey, cutting the New York lead in half and they took their first lead of the match, 10-12, on a try by Carly Waters. Another penalty kick from Cunningham, gave the Onyx a one-point, 14-13, lead but that was as close as New York would get the rest of the way as the Onyx took a 24-13 lead at the break on tries from Nana Fa’avesi.
The second half the Denver offense proved to be too potent as they took a 29-13 lead on a Rachel Johnson try in the 46th minute and never looked back en route to a 53-13 victory and the 2025 Legacy Cup title.
The Denver Onyx came into the match featuring five of the league’s top 10 points scorers on their roster, while the New York Exiles were home to the WER’s top points scorer, Jetta Owens. Both teams had previously beat each other once during the regular season. Sunday’s match was the first at a neutral stadium.
Media-ready photos from the match and audio snippets will be available here, when available.
About WER
Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) is the first American professional women’s rugby league. The mission of the WER is to be the defining standard of rugby in the United States. WER is structured on the stable foundation of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), a national, amateur pay-to-play model, high level rugby competition established in 2009. With the creation of Women’s Elite Rugby, world-class women’s rugby will be ushered into the next stage of its evolution and will take women’s rugby in the United States to new heights. For the latest news and updates surrounding the league, follow WER on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.
###