Wheeling, W. Va. - When the Wheeling Unviersity Women's Rugby team (12-0) was first established back in May, it was a continuation of an already strong Rugby tradition at Wheeling University. On Saturday night, the Cardinals added their own page to the history books, ending their historic inaugural season with a National Championship, defeating Southern Nazarene University 58-17. The Cardinal's high powered offense was at the forefront of that success, with six different players scoring tries on the night as the Cardinals completed their Cinderella inaugural season.
Wheeling's offense has led the way throughout the season, averaging 54.4 points per game, and that offensive success was on full display once again. It began with a Penalty Kick as Bella Gullatta teed the ball up from the middle of the field. She kicked it through the uprights and the Cardinals held the early 3-0 advantage and were just getting started. They would score their first try of the night seven minutes later, putting the ball in the hands of their captain Alexis Dallas. Dallas would run through four different Storm tackles and got into the try zone. Gullatta added the conversion kick and Wheeling was up 10-0 just 10 minutes into the match. Both defenses held strong over the next 10 minutes, before the Cardinals would once again get things started.
Wheeling drew a penalty from five meters out, setting up a restart, and put the ball in the hands of Joelle Taylor. Taylor would use her power running to get into the try zone and put the ball down and extended the Cardinal lead to 15-0 after Gullatta missed the conversion kick. On the ensuing possession, the Cardinal's offense was right back at it as they pitched the ball outside. Abbi Siller, would get the ball to Liz Sinatra, who handed off to Alli Davis. Davis took it the rest of the way and touched the ball down before Gullatta redeemed herself with the conversion kick to make it a 24-0 Cardinal lead. Southern Nazarene's high-powered offense would get going themselves, scoring two tries over the final 20 minutes to get to within two scores of the Cardinals. The team went into the locker room with Wheeling holding a 24-12 lead and looking to extend that into the second half.
Nine minutes into the second half, the Cardinal's defense would create the opportunity, forcing a Storm turnover. The ball bounced into the hands of Tocarra Nelson, who pitched to Tamzin Boyce streaking down the sidelines. Boyce turned on the after burners and got to the try zone, and a Gullatta conversion kick sailed through to make it a 31-12 Wheeling lead. Wheeling's offense would put it away over the next 13 minutes, scoring four tries that would seal the game. The first came in the 51st minute as Dallas pitched the ball to Jemmley Rivera from 10 meters out and she got in for the score as the Cardinals pushed their lead to 38-10. Boyce would score her second try of the day in the 56th minute and the run was capped off by a beautiful play where Gullatta kicked the ball down field and jumped on the lose ball in the try zone. Gullatta went 3-4 on conversion kicks during the run and the Cardinals had a 50-15 lead.
Southern Nazarene continued to battle no matter the score, adding their third try of the day as they made it a 55-17 game in the 69th minute. However, the Cardinal offense was just too strong, adding their final try of the night in the 75th minute. Abbi Siller got her team close to the try line and Rivera picked the ball up out of the phase. She got across th try line for her second score of the day, her first career multi-try effort, and the Cardinals made it a 55-15 game. As time expired, Southern Nazarene was called for one more penalty, and it would be Marissa Hudson who attempted the kick. Hudson would sail the kick through and the celebration was on as the team sealed the 58-17 victory. Players stormed the field in celebration, capping off a strong first season that the team looks to carry into the future of the program.
As she has done all season, it would be Bella Gullatta who led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 18 points on the night. She scored the final try for the team in the 75th minute, while going 5-8 on conversion kicks and 1-1 on penalty kicks on the day. The Cardinals had two different multi-try scorers on the day, with Tamzin Boyce and Jemmley Rivera each getting on the board twice in the effort. It was Rivera's first career multi-try game, while Boyce scored multiple tries for the third time this season. The other three tries came courtesy of Alexis Dallas, Joelle Taylor, and Alli Davis, who each finished with five points on the night. The final points came from Marissa Hudson, who made her only penalty kick to finish with three points to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team will fly back to Wheeling tomorrow as the celebration of their National Championship begins.
