Columbus, OH. – On Friday night, a new era of Rugby at Wheeling University began when the Wheeling University Women's Rugby team headed to Columbus, Ohio. The team would battle Ohio State in their first match in program history as they kicked off their 2024 15's season. The offense soared throughout the night and after an early run, the defense stood their ground as the Cardinals moved to 1-0.

It was the Buckeyes that would get on the board as they drove their way down to the goal line. They would push the ball across the try line and Wheeling was down 5-0. The Cardinals were stopped on their first possession, but five minutes later the Cardinals would answer back after setting themselves up in Buckeye territory. Tocarra Nelson would take a pitch and sprinted 10 meters down the sideline for the first try in program history. The ensuing conversion kick was missed and Wheeling was able to tie the game at 5-5. On the next possession, Wheeling was once again driving and captain Ema Tai would get the ball in her hands. Tai would run through a group of Buckeye defenders and got across the try line for her first try of the season. The conversion kick was once again missed, but the Cardinals had their first lead of the night at 10-5.

Before the half was out, the Cardinals would get on the board one more time before the half as Bella Gullatta got the ball. Gullatta made moves left and right and dove across the try line to extend the Cardinal's lead to 15-5 before the half. That would be the score as the teams went into the locker room, with the Cardinal defense holding strong after giving up a try on the opening drive. Nelson, Tai, and Gullatta each tied for the team lead with five points in the first half and the offense was looking to keep things going in the second half. Wheeling turned to their captain once again to start the second half as Tai once again got the ball in her hand. She would take off on a 20-meter dash down the sidelines as the Cardinals extended their lead to 20-5 after missing the conversion kick.

However, it was the defense that ruled throughout the second half, not allowing Ohio State to get on the board over the final 40 minutes of play. After going 0-4 on their first four conversion kicks on the night, the Cardinals would kick the ball through the uprights for the first time on the day. Wheeling got inside the Ohio State 20 yard line and a Buckeye Penalty gave Wheeling a chance for a penalty kick. Marissa Hudson would attempt the kick and sailed it through the uprights to push the Cardinal lead to 23-5. The Cardinals would close out the game in the final minutes as Jemmely Rivera went off on two major runs. She plowed through Buckeye defenders and crossed the try line under the goal posts for her first career try to make it a 28-5 game. Gullatta would finish out the scoring, converting the first conversion kick in school history to bring the game to its final score of 30-5.

Leading the scoring for the Cardinals was Ema Ta, who picked up the first multi-try effort in program history. Tai would score two tries on the afternoon, scoring 10 points in the contest to kick-off her Wheeling career. Bella Gullatta was the other leading scorer for the Cardinals, scoring a try and kicking in the lone conversion kick on the day to round out the day. Tocarra Nelson and Jemmely Rivera each added tries to finish with five points each and Marissa Hudson kicked through the line penalty kick to finish with three points.

The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returns to action on Saturday, September 7th, when they host Emory & Henry with kick-off at 1 PM.