St. Bonaventure, NY. - The Atlantic Rugby Conference (ARC) schedule rolled on for the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (3-2-1, 1-2-1) as they made the trip to St Bonaventure, New York on Saturday. The Cardinals would take an early lead, and held that lead into halftime, but a second half surge from the Bonnies made the difference. The Cardinals would fall by the final score of 50-25, dropping their second conference match of the season.
It was a strong first half for the Cardinals, led by the efforts of sophomore Panashe Mugorogodi, who scored all three tries for the team. Mugorogodi entered the day with seven tries and got the Cardinals offense going early, getting the Cardinals on the board in the 10th minute as he raced up the sidelines and touched it in the try zone for the first score of the day. The sophomore just kept going throughout the half, adding the other two Cardinal tries in the half. Taku Musingwini would go two for three on the conversion kicks, to get the Cardinals to the 21-point mark. With the effort, Mugorogodi comes to within one try of teammate Alex Nyamunda, as the two battle it out for the single-season try record of 12, held by former Cardinal Dante Walters during the team's inaugural varsity season in 2012.
While Mugorogodi was getting into the try zone, St. Bonaventure was hanging right with the Cardinals throughout the first half. Mugorogodi got the Cardinals out to a two score advantage, but St. Bonaventure would get on the board and made it a 12-7 game in the 15th minute. Mugorogodi's third try and the ensuing conversion would make it a 19-7 game, but the Bonnies once again had an answer, making it a 19-14 game. They would add a penalty kick before the half and the Wheeling lead was narrowed further to 19-17. The Cardinals needed a boost before halftime to create separation and they would get it off the foot of Musingwini.
He had already gone 2-3 on conversions on the day, and lined up for a Penalty Kick with just 10 minutes to play in the half. He sailed it through the uprights and the Cardinals lead would extend to 22-17 as the half was winding down. On the next Cardinal possession, Musingwini would get another chance, and was once again able to send the ball right through the uprights. It gave the Cardinals a 25-17 advantage and, despite one more Bonnie try before the half, a failed conversion sent the teams into the locker room with Wheeling holding a 25-22 lead. Musingwini has been one of the most efficient kickers in the ARC this season, and continued that trend in the first half, moving his season penalty kick percentage to 83.3% (10-12).
However, in the second half, the Bonnies defense would stiffen, holding the Cardinals to just three points over the final 40 minutes. St. Bonaventure came out hot, scoring on their first possession and sending through a conversion to take a 29-25 lead. It was the start of a big offensive half for the Bonnies that saw them score four tries and go 3-4 on the ensuing conversions to get to the 50-point mark. It was the most points allowed by the Cardinals so far this season and, with the score sitting at 50-25, Musingwini would tee up the ball one final time for a penalty kick. He would send the ball through the uprights, but it was too little too late as the Cardinals fell 50-28.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Panashe Mugorogodi, who finished with three tries and 21 points in the effort. It was the second time this season that the sophomore has hit the three try mark in a game as he continues to be an outside threat for the team. Sitting behind him was Taku Musingwini, who accounted for the Cardinal's remaining 13 points in the contest. He would finish 2-3 on conversion kicks, moving him to 14-21 (66.7%) on the season, while hitting all three of his penalty kick opportunities.
The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team returns to action on Friday, October 31st, when they take on Belmont Abbey with kick-off at 1 PM.
