Boyd, MD. - After falling in the Quarterfinal Round on day one, the Wheeling University Women's Rugby team was back in action in the Plate Cup of the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7's. The Cardinals would finish the day 1-1 across the two games and finished 6th overall for the event. After winning the National Championship in the fall, it was a strong finish to the Cardinal's inaugural season on the pitch.
Game One: Wheeling 17, New Haven 12
As they began the run to the 5th place game, the Cardinals would meet New Haven in their first matchup of the day. The Chargers would be the one to get the scoring started, scoring just a minute into the game and adding the conversion to take a 7-0 lead. Both defenses would stand strong for the rest of the half and, despite the Cardinals making several pushes they could not get across the try line. New Haven would score the final try of the half and went into the break with a 12-0 lead. The Cardinals were unable to score in the first half, but they would come out strong in the second half. After getting the opening kick-off, Abigail Zubieta-Robinson drove down to the five meter line. As she was pushing for the line, she was awarded a penalty try and the Cardinals would cut into the New Haven lead making it 12-7.
As the second half moved on, the Cardinal's defense would dig in their cleats and kept the Chargers off the board. With time winding down, the Cardinals would make one final push and found their break down the sidelines. Liz Sinatra would get the pitch and she used her speed to get across the try line. The conversion kick was missed and the Cardinals would tie the game at 12-12. That would remain the score at the end of regulation and the two teams would head to overtime. Wheeling would get the first possession and would turn to their captain for the game winning score. Bella Gullatta would get across the try line for her first of the day and the Cardinals would advance to the fifth place match with a 17-12 win. All 17 points came in the second half for the Cardinals as they battled and picked up a bounce back win after their quarterfinal loss.
The three Cardinal tries would come from three different players, totaling 15 points. Abigail Zubieta-Robinson, Liz Sinatra, and Bella Gullatta each scored tries on the day, finishing with five points each. The final two Cardinal points would come courtesy of the Penalty try as the Cardinals picked up a big win. They would advance to the 5th place game where they would take on Queens.
Game Two: Queens 34, Wheeling 12
The Cardinals would wrap up the CRC National 7's in the 5th place game against Queens. It took the Lions just 1:23 seconds to get on the board and they took a 5-0 advantage. Queens would score the first three tries of the contest over the first five minutes and missed all three conversion kicks and would hold a 15-0 lead. The Cardinals continued to push, but weren't able to get across the try line during the first half. Queens would add one more try before the half was over and the conversion kick was good as the Cardinals headed into halftime trailing 22-0. After breaking for the half, the Cardinals would get on the board to start the new half as they got the ball into the hands of Tocarra Nelson. Nelson would need just a minute to score as she touched the ball down. Bella Gullatta would kick through the conversion kick and the Cardinals cut into the lead making it 22-7.
However, the potent Queens offense was too much for the Cardinals to counter as the Lions answered with a try just over a minute later. They kicked through the conversion kick and the Queens lead extended to 29-7. The Cardinals would push across one more try on the day as Tamzin Boyce scored her first try of the day. The conversion kick would fall short and the Cardinals would make it a 29-12 game. The Lions had one more score on their ledger, and brought the game to its final score of 34-12. With the effort, the Cardinals would finish as the 6th team in the country, rounding out their inaugural season after winning a National Championship and finished 6th overall at the event.
The Cardinals would get two tries from two different players in their final effort of the season. Tocarra Nelson and Tamzin Boyce would account for the two tries, finishing with five points each. Bella Gullatta would kick through the lone conversion kick and finished with two points on the day.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team heads to the off-season as they look to continue the growth into the off-season.
