Washington, D.C. – Over the weekend, the top six teams from the Atlantic Rugby Conference (ARC) came together at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC for the first ARC Championship weekend. The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (4-3-1 1-3-1) would take on Kutztown in the fifth place match, and would come out on top with a 42-23 victory. With the win, the Cardinals not only were able to secure 5th in the ARC, but earned an Automatic Qualifier for the 2025 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) National Playoffs.
The Cardinals had been stricken by the injury bug throughout the season and we're back at nearly full strength as they kicked off the postseason run. Things would get started in the 10th minute as Mychal Andrews brought the ball to the middle of the field. He would pound his way over the try line and the Cardinals found themselves out to an early 5-0 advantage. Taku Musingwini followed with the conversion, and the Cardinals sat ahead 7-0 in the early going. The offense would just keep coming as the half went on, and the Cardinals got the ball into the hands of one of the top playmakers, Panashe Mugorogodi. The sophomore would use his speed to get down the sidelines and scored his 11th try of the season. Musingwini kept the success in the kicking game going, and Wheeling's advantage was pushed to 14-0 with 25 minutes remaining in the first half.
Kutztown would notch their first try of the night and send through the ensuing conversion, as they cut into the Cardinal lead, making it a 14-7 game. Those would be the only points of the half for the Golden Bears as Wheeling's offense just kept coming. The final two tries of the half would come from players who were previously on the injured list, starting with team captain Lawul Bata. Bata has missed some time this year due to a leg injury, and was able to scoot his way down field and into the try zone. It was his first try since the opening week against IUP, and another Musingwini kick would make it a 21-8 lead heading towards halftime. However, the Cardinals would add one more try before that halftime break as Michael Muleya made his presence known. He would score his first try of the day, also his first since IUP, and Musingwini sent one more kick through the uprights to end the half.
The Cardinals would enter halftime with a 28-7 lead, and a Golden Bear Penalty Kick started the second half scoring at 28-10. Bata would record the first Cardinal try of the half, picking up his first multi-try game. He would sneak across the try line in the 49th minute, and Musingwini would come through again with the conversion to make it a 35-10 advantage. Kutztown Began to battle back, making two penalty kicks, one try, and the ensuing conversion, and made it a 35-23 game with 10 minutes to play. After seeing some second half leads slip away over the last few weeks, the Cardinal defense stiffened allowing the offense to make a push. The final score of the night would put junior Alex Nyamunda In the record books. He would get across the try line with 5 minutes to go, Scoring his 12th try of the season to tie him for the single season 15's try record. Musingwini would follow with his final conversion bringing the game to its final score of 42-23.
Leading the effort was the combination of Lawula Bata and Taku Musingwini, who each finished with 10 points in the effort. For Bata, it was a strong return from injury as he got across the try line twice in the match and brought his season total to four. Musingwini continued his success in the kicking game, finishing 5-5 on conversion opportunities. He is now 19-24 (79.2%) on conversions this season and leads the Cardinals with 74 points this season. The other 15 points were scored by three different players, with Mychal Andrews, Panashe Mugorogodi, and Alex Nyamunda all getting across the try line for five points.
The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team returns to action on Saturday, November 15th, when they take on Dartmouth in the play-in round of the NCR D1 15's National Tournament at noon.
