Wheeling, W. Va. - During the spring, the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (6-2) got a taste of gold when they won the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7's Championship. As the warm weather has gone cold, the Cardinals still have a taste for gold and are looking to earn their first National Championship in 15's play. The team continues on that road Saturday when they play in the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 15's National Semifinals against Queens in Reading, Pennsylvania, with kick-off at 5 PM.
Last time out, the Cardinals played on the road in the NCR Quarterfinals against Notre Dame College. As they have been all season, the Cardinal's offense was potent, putting up 58 points in the winning effort. The Cardinals needed just eight minutes to get on the board, but an immediate response from Notre Dame made it a 5-5 game. After the early back and forth, the Cardinals took the ball and ran with it, scoring 12 unanswered points before the half. They would go into the locker room leading 17-5 and would build even more momentum after the halftime break. The Cardinals scored four tries in the span of eight minutes after the break and turned a 12-point advantage into a 43-5 Cardinal lead. Notre Dame College continued to fight, outscoring Wheeling 19-15 over the final 32 minutes, but the damage had been done as the Cardinals held on for the 58-24 win.
After playing a crucial role in the Cardinal's home wild card win, Panashe Mugorogodi was at it again in the Quarterfinal round. He was a part of the Cardinal's second half outburst, after the Cardinals returned one kick-off back for a try, Mugorogodi would get his hands on the ball and duplicated the effort for his first score of the day. As Notre Dame lined up to kick it again, Mugorogodi found himself in the same spot, and he did it again, crossing the try line for his second of the day to get Wheeling over the 40-point mark. Mugorogodi now has three tries during postseason play, after not scoring during the regular season. He dealt with injuries early on and is making the most of his opportunities during the postseason run.
The Cardinals had two more multi-try scorers on the night, with Alex Nyamunda and Aaron Juma each adding two of their own in the effort. Nyamunda has been the Cardinal's leading scorer throughout 15's, bringing his total to nine tries and 45 points on the season. He has scored multiple tries in all but one game this season, and added to what has been a breakout sophomore campaign. Aaron Juma added his second multi-try effort of the year, and brought his season total to six tries and 30 points. Juma, who was drafted by Old Glory DC in this year's Major League Rugby (MLR) draft, closed out the match with two big tries that sealed the deal. After being the team's leading scorer a season ago, he has taken a role assisting other scorers this season, serving as one of the team captains.
With the Cardinals advancing to the NCR 15's National semifinals, they have already put together their best season in program history. They were bounced in the Quarterfinal round in each of the last two seasons, finally getting over that quarterfinal hump in 2024. The top four teams advance to Reading, PA, with the winners set to fly to Houston next week for the NCR National Championship match. After building the program up over the last four years, Head Coach Mike Geibel has a team of veterans that have experience on the national stage. They look to take their experience from 7's season and put it to use in the fall as they shoot to add a 15's National Championship to their trophy case.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Lions will be meeting for the third time in program history, with Queens University of Charlotte leading the series at 2-0. Both of the previous meetings have come in 15's play, and the Cardinal offense has been held to just 15 points per game in those meetings. It will be the first neutral site meeting between the two teams as the Cardinals look to avenge losses from each of the last two seasons.
Their last meeting came on September 9th, 2023, in a game that Queens would win 29-11 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Former Cardinal Achraf Boutzanfout would be the leading scorer, scoring the only try of the day and totaling five points. The other six Cardinal points came on a pair of penalty kicks from Joe Iye and Ayoub Jalli, who each finished with three points on the day.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday' game is scheduled for 5 PM inside in Reading, Pennsylvania. You can watch the action live on NCR's Youtube channel by clicking HERE.
