WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit Rugby team dropped a tighter than expected Rugby East conference matchup to the #6 Davenport Panthers 22-7 on Saturday.
 
With the loss, the Cardinals move to 2-5 (0-3 Rugby East) in their first season as a member of D1-A college rugby, and only the second season in the program's existence as a varsity sport.
 
On a damp afternoon on the athletic fields at Oglebay Resort, both the Cardinals and the DU Panthers had trouble with a slippery ball and soft pitch. The conditions played to WJU's strengths however, with their forwards putting in a gritty and workman-like performance.
 
"I can't say enough about how hard our forwards worked out there today, but you can't win a game with only 8 guys," said WJU head coach Eric Jerpe. "There are several players on this young team who recognize what it takes to play at the nation's highest level, and are rising to the challenge. As we develop, our entire team will need to play with the same heart and intensity our forwards did today. I'm very proud of them."
 
It would be the Cardinals who would get on the board first when open-side Flanker Allan Hanson, the sophomore out of Cape Girardeau, Mo. Intercepted an errant DU pass and sprinted 60 meters untouched to put WJU on top 5-0 and give the Cardinals a shot of confidence in the early stages of the match.
 
Team Captain Luke Titus' conversion attempt from right in front of the posts was successful, and the Cards were up 7-0 after 6 minutes of play.
 
Davenport would not be held out for long however, when the Panther's #2 Gabe Sochanek powered over for a try to even the score line at 7-7.
 
DU's Mike Houston, a former High School All-American, showed his experience with a pair of tries on the day for DU, touching down for his first just before halftime, making it 12-7 at the break.
 
Also getting into the score column for DU was JP Eloff, the All-American fly-half who recently returned from Shanghai, on tour with the Tiger Olympic Development Academy. Eloff was contained well by the Cardinal defense and kept out of the end zone, but kicked a penalty in the 50^th minute to put DU up 15-7. Houston added his second try of the day in the 62^nd minute, which brought the score line to 22-7 where it would stay for the duration of the match.
 
The Cardinals had two big opportunities to get back in the scoring column that went begging. In both cases the ball had made its way out to the edge of the field with a WJU winger put into space, but the slippery ball slipped through the hands of the receiver both times for what would have been two walk-in tries that could have potentially won the game for the home team.
 
Wheeling Jesuit will finish the fall season on Saturday, Nov 9^th in Philadelphia where they will take on American International College (Springfield, Mass.) in a non-conference friendly, leading up to the USA vs New Zealand Maori international test match being held at PPL Park that evening. The WJU/AIC match will kick off at 10am at Edgely Field in Fairmount Park. The Wheeling Jesuit Alumni Association is planning a post-match tailgate BBQ for all alumni, friends, and family of WJU rugby, followed by a trip to PPL part to watch the USA Eagles.  

WJU 7
Tries: Hanson
Convs: Titus

Davenport 22

Tries: Sochanek, Houston (2)
Convs: Gent, Eloff
Pens: Eloff