FREDIRICKSBURG, Va. – Wheeling Jesuit Rugby got back in the win column on Saturday, beating the University of Mary Washington 43-22 on the road in Virginia. The Cardinals scored three tries in the last 20 minutes of the match to put UMW away for the victory, bringing their combined fall and spring record to 9-2-1 in the program's first year.
Wheeling native
Adam Parsons of Central Catholic High School had a breakout performance for the Cards at Outside Center, scoring a try, and assisting Freshmen
Jamie Barlow (Columbus, Ohio) on one of his two tries on the day. Fellow Freshman Zach Reichenbach (Sweetwater, N.J.) also had a strong performance with two tries to his name on the day. Adding to the score column for WJU were Sophomore
Dante Walters (Sacramento, Calif.) and Freshman
Brandon Stine (Mechanicsburg, Pa.).
“Overall we're pretty pleased with the guy's performance today.” Said WJU Head Coach
Eric Jerpe “We needed to rebound from our loss last week and get our confidence back. When we played to our pattern, it looked great. So today was just about building our confidence in the system, and putting it to work.”
Starting out the first half, it was Mary Washington who would get on the board first, scoring a try just minutes into the match. Wheeling Jesuit hit right back however when
Jamie Barlow found space on the wing and sprinted 20 meters for the try in the corner. The conversion missed however, putting WJU down 5-7 after 10 minutes.
The Cardinals continued to mount the pressure throughout the first half, keeping Mary Washington on their back foot. Zach Reichenbach capitalized on the mounting pressure taking a quick-tap off a penalty and powering his way 10 meters for the first of his two tries. Minutes later,
Adam Parsons broke tackle after tackle and finished a 40-meter individual effort with a try under the posts to put WJU up 15-7 and put the Cardinals on the front foot.
The momentum would shift back to Mary Washington's side however when a WJU pass went to deck and a UMW player managed to chip-kick it forward, and scoop it up for an opportunistic try. Wheeling Jesuit struck right back though, when Parsons again broke several tackles before putting Barlow into space to finish a well worked try, and giving the Cardinals the 22-14 lead going into the half.
In the second half, Mary Washington kicked a penalty, and used pressure through their forward pack to put another try on the board, tying the game at 22 with only 20 minutes to play.
The Cardinals didn't take the try lying down however, when
Dante Walters retaliated immediately, collecting a pass off the ensuing kickoff and powering over for a try.
Brandon Stine ran in a long range try just minutes later, and Reichenbach would put the cap on the game, breaking through a gap and scoring the final try of the match as time expired.
Wheeling Jesuit returns home to Wheeling for their first home match of the spring season on Saturday, March 30
th against the Ohio University Bobcats.
“We're hoping to get a big crowd out for our first home game.” added Coach Jerpe “We've been on the road for the entire spring season, so we're looking forward to a big home-field advantage. Even if people don't know rugby, we' can promise you it will be exciting and we will teach you all you need to know about the game”
The game is scheduled for 1:00 pm at the James LaRossa Athletic Complex on the WJU Campus.
WJU 43
Tries:
Barlow (2), Reichenbach (2), Parsons, Walters, Stine
Cons:
Titus (2)
Fitzpatrick (2)
Mary Washington: 22
WJU Roster
15 Michael Fitzpatrick
14
Jamie Barlow
13
Adam Parsons
12 Luke Titus
11
Brandon Stine
10 Dennis Diza
9
Jordan Saseen
1
Max Lum
2
Julian Santana
3 Nic Chaufournier
4 Zach Reichenbach
5
Corben McInnis
6
Shawn Wagner
7
Allan Hanson
8
Dante Walters
Reserves
Ross Bernier
Christian Ghering
Ian Brooks
Mike Probert
Clayton Smith
