Wheeling, W. Va. - On Saturday, the Wheeling University Women's Rugby team (4-1) were supposed to host Aquinas College for their annual Homecoming Match at Bishop Schmitt Field. However, due to injuries, the Saints Women's Rugby team was forced to forfeit the match, giving Wheeling a 28-0 forfeit victory. The Cardinals will now have their second bye week in a row before they get set to face Walsh on Saturday, October 11th, with kick-off at 7 PM.
The Cardinals last game came back on September 20th when they earned a resounding 62-0 victory over Mount St. Mary's. The Cardinals needed just five minutes to get on the board and, once they did, it was hard to stop the rolling Cardinals. They took a 34-0 lead into the halftime break, and added 28 second half points on their way to the dominating 62-0 victory. In total, eight different Cardinal players would cross the try line, led by the efforts of Rafi Barrack. Barrack would score her first multi-try game of her collegiate career, while Ema Tai, Alli Davis, Tamzin Boyce, Alexis Dallas, Tocarra Nelson, Emerson Callegari, and Riley Bonds each got across the try line once. Wheeling's leading scorer was Bella Gullatta, who finished 9-10 on conversion kicks and 1-1 on Penalty Kicks to round out the day for the Cardinals.
With the forfeit victory, the Cardinals have now had four shutouts this season, with three of those four shutouts coming with the offense scoring 50 or more points. It was part of what has been a dominant effort at Bishop Schmitt Field this season, where the Cardinals are outscoring opponents 144-0 while averaging 48.0 PPG on their home field. Their lone loss of the season came in the second week, where they fell to Davenport 42-12 as they took on the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) runners-up from last year. The Cardinals still have five games remaining on their schedule, including three of those being on their home field, and they look to take advantage as they continue their push for a National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) playoff spot.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returns to action on Saturday, October 11th, when they take on Walsh University with kick-off at 7 PM.
