Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the last two weeks, the Wheeling University Rugby team (2-2, 1-2) have been on the road competing in Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) play. On Friday, they return home to help kick-off Homecoming and Family Weekend when they battle Notre Dame College at 7 PM. They look to get back in the win column after two tough luck losses.

Last time out, the Cardinals took on Marian College in BRRC play and it came down to the game's final seconds. In the first half, the Cardinals would push across the first try of the day as Krishna Kwenda scored and Ayoub Jalli kicked through the conversion to make it a 7-0 game. The Cardinals held the lead heading into halftime at 7-3, and looked to continue the roll in the second half. They added another two tries in the second half and on the final possession of the game they led 21-16 and Marian had the ball in the final seconds of the game. They pushed across a final try to tie the game at 21-21 and the ensuing conversion kick went through as Marian picked up the win 23-21. The Cardinals fell to 1-2 in conference play and are looking for a rebound back home.

Ayoub Jalli had a big day on the pitch, converting all three of his conversion kicks and accounting for six of his team's 21 points on the night. Jalli has been consistent all season long, contributing both to the offense and the kicking game. He accounted for 16 points in their home game against Adrian and added 12 more points to that total over the last two weeks to bring him to 28 points in three weeks of BRRC play. He has two tries so far on the season, and has converted over 10 conversion kicks over the first four games of the season. Krishna Kwenda also continued his strong season with his team-leading fifth try of the year in the first half. He has been a welcome edition to the Cardinals high-powered offense and looks to continue to be a threat on the pitch.

Most of the Cardinals' success this season has come in the second half, and they added 14 more points to their second half total. In their first match of the year against Queens, the Cardinals scored 19 points in the second half and have totaled 62 points in the second half of games this season. Meanwhile, in the first half of games, the Cardinals have scored 45 points, accounting for 42% of the team's total offense.  Head Coach Mike Geibel has been looking for his team to better that first half scoring percentage to set them up in better position over the final 40 minutes of play. While the record might not be exactly where the Cardinals want it in the early portion of the season, they will continue to battle as they try and claim a spot in the 2022 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 15's playoffs.

In their first season with a full Division I Rugby schedule, the Cardinals have handled things well sitting at 2-2. They have shown that they can compete with every team our there, but still have some things to clean up. They currently sit at 1-2 overall and are sitting behind Thomas More and Marian after the two losses. However, the offense has shown that they can be potent over the last couple games and look to lead the effort over the final four weeks of the season. With two more BRRC games ahead of them, the Cardinals look to end the season strong as they make the final push towards the playoffs.