Wheeling, W. Va. - After a long season of competition, the Atlantic Rugby Conference (ARC) is welcoming all six teams to Washington, DC. for the inaugural ARC playoffs. The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (3-3-1, 1-3-1) finished as the #5 team in the regular season standings, and will meet with Kutztown in the ARC fifth place match on Saturday, with kick-off at 1 PM. The winner receives an automatic bid to the 2025 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 15's National playoffs, while the loser is sent packing and looking forward to the 2026 7's season.
The Cardinals wrapped up the regular season schedule back on Halloween night when they traveled to Belmont Abbey. The Cardinals would get on the board first, getting a penalty kick opportunity in the first 10 minutes of the game. Wheeling would lead 3-0 and was able to hold the Knights off the board over the first 15 minutes of the game, but once the Knights got started, it was hard to hold them at bay. They would get across the try line twice before the half and Wheeling headed into the locker room trailing 12-3. In the second half, the Knights continued their push and scored 33 points over the final 40 minutes of play. Wheeling continued to try and push the ball up field, but in the end they could not find the try zone and would fall 45-3. It moved them from the #3 seed to the #5 seed in the standings as they look to compete for their playoff lives.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was once again Taku Musingwini, who continues to be consistent in the Cardinal kicking game. He would account for the team's only three points against Belmont Abbey, making his lone conversion kick attempt of the game to finish 1-1 in the effort. It brought Musingwini's season total to 64 points to lead the Cardinals, while also being one of the most consistent kickers in all of NCR. The Penalty Kicks have been his most successful area, where he sits 12-14 on the season to sit at a ln 85.7% success rate. That success continues in the conversion kick game, where Musingwini sits 14-19, holding a 73.68% success rate. In a win or go home matchup where every point counts, the Cardinals will rely on Musingwini to continue his consistency and help the Cardinals punch their ticket to the 2025 NCR National Playoffs.
Leading the offense has been the one-two punch of Alex Nyamunda and Panashe Mugorogodi, who are neck and neck in the race to set the single-season 15's try record. Leading the duo is Alex Nyamunda, who holds the Cardinal lead with 11 tries this year while sitting second on the team with 55 points. He already set the career 15's tries record earlier this season with 23 and continues to extend that number with every match this season. However, Panashe Mugorogodi has been hot on his trail and sits just one try behind Nyamunda. He has scored 10 this 15's season, setting a new PR after scoring eight last season, and has scored each of the last three tries for the team. All three of those tries came in the team's 50-25 loss to St. Bonaventure, with all three of those coming in the first half.
It will be a full weekend of action for the ARC in Washington, DC, as they will be holding three matches for the inaugural ARC Championship weekend. The #1 and #2 teams will battle for the inaugural ARC Championship and the #3 and #4 teams will be competing for third place, with both matches being played on Friday night. Wheeling and Kutztown will wrap up the weekend on Saturday afternoon, playing in the 5th place match in the final game of the weekend. Each of the top five teams will earn automatic bids to the 2025 NCR D1 15's National Championships, making Saturday's game a win-or-go home match. The Cardinals are looking to make their fourth straight trip to the National championships as they chase down their first ever NCR National title.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Golden Bears are meeting for the 12th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time matchup at 7-5. However, when the teams meet in 15's play, Kutztown is the one leading the way with a record of 5-3. The Cardinals have won back-to-back matchups against Kutztown, including a playoff match-up in last year as part of the NCR DI 15's Quarterfinals. Wheeling has won each of the past six meetings between the two seasons and looks to continue that roll on Saturday.
The first meeting between the two teams came back on September 13th in a match that the Cardinals would win 36-17. Leading the way for the Cardinals was their duo of Alex Nyamunda and Panashe Mugorogodi, who finished with two tries and 10 points each in the effort. Shadrecka Mandaza would score the other try for the Cardinals, while Taku Musingwini finished with 11 points, going 4-5 on conversions and 1-2 on Penalty Kicks on the day.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM on the campus of Catholic University of America. Stay tuned to wucardinals.com throughout the day for updates and a complete recap following the event.
