Wheeling, W. Va. - On Saturday, the Wheeling University Rugby team (0-2) got their first chance to perform in front of their home fans when they played their 2023 15's home opener against Mary Washington. It was a close match throughout, with both teams making runs, but in the end, Mary Washington would come out on top as they defeated the Cardinals 17-15. The Cardinals pushed across two tries on the afternoon but couldn't overcome the Mary Washington defensive effort to take their second loss of the season.
It was all Cardinals early, with the offense getting on the board just 11 minutes into the game. It would be Ayoub Jalli getting across the try line in the match's 11th minute, scoring what would be his first try of the 2023 season. The ensuing conversion kick was missed by Jalli and the Cardinals would lead 5-0 in the early going. Six minutes later, Mary and Washington got on the board via a Penalty Kick in the 17th minute to cut the Wheeling lead to 5-3. That one try was all Wheeling managed before the halftime break and another Mary Washington Penalty Kick would give them the lead in the 26th minute. The teams headed to the locker room with that same 6-5 score and both teams were looking to get their offense going.
As they came out for the second half, Mary Washington needed just two minutes to extend their lead, pushing across a try in the 42nd minute to push their lead to 11-5. Wheeling would respond on their first possession of the half, as Krishna Kwenda pushed across his first try of the 15's season to make it a 11-10 affair. Jalli would attempt his second conversion kick of the day and this time sailed it through the uprights to give Wheeling the lead at 12-11, their first since the game's 17th minute. That would be the final try of the game as the teams traded three Penalty kicks over the final 20 minutes of play with Mary Washington hitting two and Jalli adding one of his own. In the end, it would bring the final score to 17-15 Mary Washington, as the Cardinals fell to 0-2 on the season.
Ayoub Jalli was the Cardinals leading scorer, accounting for 10 of his team's 15 points in the contest, scoring one try, one conversion kick, and one penalty kick. Krishna Kwenda was the other scorer for the Cardinals, tacking on his first try of the 15's season as he scored five points for his team. Jalli was the lone kicker on the day for the Cardinals, going 1-2 on conversion kicks and 1-4 on penalty kicks on the day. Krishna Kwenda would add the other five points on the day, scoring his first try of the season and Wheeling's third of the 15's season. The Cardinals have scored 26 total points this season through their first two games and will look to generate more offense with two regular season games remaining ahead of the 2023 Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) playoffs.
The Wheeling University Rugby team will return to action on Saturday, September 30th when they host Thomas More for their senior day with kick-off at 4 PM.
