Wheeling, W. Va. – The National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) National Tournament run kicked off last week when the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (5-3-1, 1-3-1) took down Dartmouth in the NCR Play-In game. The next stop on the road to Houston takes them to the Virginia Military Institute, where they will meet up with Queens University of Charlotte in the NCR Quarterfinals. After a strong second half push in the win against Dartmouth, the Cardinals are looking to ride that momentum into their Quarterfinal match.
The Cardinals would travel to Vermont for a Play-in round matchup with Dartmouth last Saturday, and it was all Big Green early. Dartmouth would score the first two tries of the day, before the Cardinals got on the board in the game's 15th minute. They got to within one score of the Big Green, but Dartmouth continued to find the try zone. They would score twice more before the half was out and the team's headed into the halftime break with the score sitting at 28-7. Wheeling made several pushes during the first half, but were unable to find the try line. They continued to push in the second half, but this time was able to get across the try line. They would outscore the Big Green 29-5 over the final 40 minutes, officially overtaking them in the 60th minute. The Cardinal defense allowed just one try over the final 40 minutes of play and would go on to win by the final score of 36-33.
When the Cardinals needed someone to get in the try zone, they would turn to sophomore Panashe Mugorogodi. The sophomore would use his combination of speed and power to get across the try line four times in the second half, and pace the Cardinals with 20 points on the day. It was the second time that Mugorogodi has reached the four try mark in a single game, and the effort would also help him cement his place in Wheeling Men's Rugby history. He brought his season total to 14 tries, giving him the single-season 15's record and breaking the previous record of 12, which was set during the first varsity season in 2012. Mugorogodi has been an offensive threat for the Cardinals since he came on to campus last year, scoring 23 tries over the two year stretch, making him second all time in the 15's career scoring list. He is going to be a big part of the team's offensive success during the postseason run as the team competes for a National title.
The one who jump started the second half scoring was Alex Nyamunda, who got the Cardinal's second try of the game. He was passing the ball in the early portion of the game but, at halftime, Head Coach Maxwell Hamilton told him to carry the ball. He did just that, getting a Ross the try line just four minutes into the new half. It would be a record breaker for Nyamunda as he broke the single-season try record with his 13th. He would later be passed by Mugorogodi, as the two go back and forth for the record. Taku Musingwini would continue his success in the kicking game, making four of the five conversions he attempted on the day. He has been an efficient kicker for the Cardinals throughout the season, moving his season kicking percentage to 73.3% (22-30) for the season. The last time the Cardinals faced Queens University of Charlotte, Musingwini was the Cardinal's leader with 21 points and kicked the game tying penalty kick from nearly 50 yards out to force the draw. He looks to be a key contributor in this Quarterfinal match on the team's road to a National Championship.
2025 marks the fourth straight season that the Cardinals have played in the Quarterfinal round, with the Cardinals going 1-3 in those four games. Last year was the first time that the Cardinals advanced to the semifinals in program history. Sunday will serve as a rematch of that semifinal game from last season's road to Houston. The two teams also make you two of the three Atlantic Rugby Conference teams in this year's tournament, after the league was formed during it's inaugural season. On the other side of the bracket, Belmont Abbey, representing the third team from the ARC, will take on Notes Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. The winners of the matchups will face-off for the right to play in the 2025 NCR DI 15's National Championship match. The Cardinals have never advanced passed the semifinal round in their program's history and look to take the first step to doing just that as they look for their first ever 15's win against Queens.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Royals are meeting for the sixth time in program history, with Queens leading the all-time series at 3-1-1. The only win for the Cardinals in the series came during the 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championships (CRC) National 7's a season ago. In 15's play, the Cardinals are 0-3-1 against the Royals, with the lone tie in the series coming in the most resent match-up. The Cardinals are averaging 25.2 points per game in the all-time series, and have scored 20 or more points in two of the last three meetings between the two teams.
Their last meeting came back on October 3rd, when the two teams were featured on NCR's Friday Night Lights. It was a match that the Cardinals tied with the Royals 36-36, with Taku Musingwini accounting for more than half of his team's points in the effort with 25. Alex Nyamunda scored two tries in the effort, totaling 10 points, while Shadrecka Mandaza scored a key try in the second half
The Details
Kick-off for Sunday's NCR Quarterfinal is scheduled for 1 PM at the Virginia Military Institute VMI. Follow along with wucardinals.com for live updates throughout the day.
