Boyd, Md. - The road to the National Championship kicked off for the Wheeling University Women's Rugby Team on Saturday on day one of the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7's. The Cardinals battled to the semifinal round, where they fell to a strong American International College (AIC) team, ending their road to a National Championship sweep. The Cardinals will continue on into Sunday's consolation round games, but finish the championship bracket 1-1 on Saturday.
Game One: Wheeling 19, Bowdoin 5
Wheeling would take the field in the second game of the day as they began their run against the #4 seed Bowdoin. It was a back and forth defensive battle early on, but the Cardinals were able to break through at the 4:55 mark of the first half. Liz Sinatra would go down the sidelines and touched the ball down for the first score of the day. Bella Gullatta would step in and put through the conversion kick and the Cardinals were out in front 7-0. The Cardinals were back on the board one more time before the half as Alexis Dallas powered her way through the middle of the uprights to touch the ball down. Gullatta was back on it with the conversion kick and the Cardinals went into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
As they came out of the halftime break, Bowdoin was looking for a response and they got it to start the half. At the 2:36 mark, they would get across the try line, but a missed conversion kick would keep it a 14-5 game. The Cardinal defense held strong for the rest of the half, despite several pushes from Bowdoin. The Cardinals would need one more try to seal the deal, and they would get it courtesy of Tamzin Boyce. Boyce would get across the try line for her first try of the game in the final seconds of action and the Cardinals elected not to kick the conversion. It brought the game to its final score of 19-5 and advanced the Cardinals to the National Semifinal round.
The Cardinals would score three tries by three different players in the contest with Tamzin Boyce, Alexis Dallas, and Ema Tai all accounting for one try on the day, and finishing with five points. Bella Gullatta would account for the other four Cardinal points, going 2-2 on her conversion kicks on the day. It advanced the Cardinals to the National Semifinal as they continued their road to a National Championship.
Game Two: AIC 31, Wheeling 14
As they headed into the National Championship semifinals, the Cardinals had a tough task ahead of them with #1 seeded AIC. The Cardinals had fallen to the Yellow Jackets three times earlier this season, and AIC came out hot once again, scoring the first 14 points of the contest. However, the Cardinals were not ready to back down and, at the 5:23 mark would put their first points up on the day. Alexis Dallas made her way across the try line for her second score of the day, and a Bella Gullatta conversion kick would make it a 14-7 game. However, the Yellow Jackets were on the board twice more before all was said and done and they went into the halftime break with a 21-7 advantage.
In the second half, Wheeling's defense held strong, keeping the Yellow Jackets off the board for the next five minutes. In the meantime, the Cardinals began to battle back as captain Ema Tai got things going. She scored her first try of the game, second of the day, and the Cardinals would make it a 21-12 game. Gullatta kicked through her second conversion kick and with 11:25 showing on the board it was a one score game. However, that was as close as the Cardinals would get as AIC added two more tries in the final three minutes of play, not hitting the conversion either time. The Cardinals would fall by the final score of 31-14, bringing their National Championship run to an end.
The offense would spread the ball around once again, with Ema Tai and Alexis Dallas each scoring one try on the day to account for five points each. Both would finish the day with 14 total points, and head into tomorrow's consolation bracket looking to lead the way. Bella Gullatta would finish perfect on conversion kicks, going 2-2 once again to finish with four points.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returns to action on Sunday, April 27th, when they take on New Haven at 11:20 AM in the first round of the Plate bracket.
