New Orleans, LA. – After taking down Harvard in their first round match, day two of the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) CRC 7's rolled on Saturday. The Cardinals continued their run in the Premier Cup with a pair of matchups against #2 St. Bonaventure and #1 Lindenwood. They ended up splitting this day as they won the first match, followed by a second match loss to the 4-time defending Champions. While their hopes for a National Championships were dashed, they are still alive for day three of competition.

Match 1: Wheeling 22, St. Bonaventure 14

The first match of the day was Wheeling's second round match against #2 seeded St. Bonaventure. It was the second matchup of the season between the two teams, after the Cardinals fell 22-7 against them at the Irish 7's back in April. This was a hard fought contest as both teams were vying for the lead. At halftime, it was a 15-14 Wheeling halftime lead and the Cardinals were looking for the try to put them over the edge. They would get it in the final minutes of the game and a successful conversion kick would make it a 22-14 game with just minutes to go. The Cardinals defense would have to hold on for one more St. Bonaventure try, and they did just that as they held on for the 22-14 win. It was a bounce back effort for the Cardinals that would take them to the Quarterfinals.

Match 2: Lindenwood 29, Wheeling 7

The second game of the day saw Wheeling take on the four-time defending Champions in Lindenwood University. It was the first meeting between the two teams since April 16th, 2016, and the Cardinals had a record of 0-2 against the Lions. This was the second time they have met in 7's play and the Lions offense came out hot from the start of the game. They shutout the Cardinals for the first seven minutes of the game and went into halftime leading 22-0. The Cardinals were able to break through with a try in the second half that got them on the board and a conversion kick made it a 22-7 game. Lindenwood added one more try to close out the game and defeated Wheeling 29-7. The Cardinals now fall into the fifth place bracket, and will continue to battle for that fifth place spot.

The Wheeling Cardinals finish out the CRC 7's on Monday when they take on Penn State University in the fifth-place semifinal game.