Wheeling, W. Va. – Under a sundrenched West Virginia sky, the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team opened their 2025 15's Schedule at Bishop Schmitt Field. Wheeling celebrated their 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7's Championship in a pregame ceremony before the Cardinals welcomed in IUP for their 15's Season Opener. The teams battled back and forth through the opening 40 minutes, but a 52-point second half swing helped lift the Cardinals to a 69-12 win.
The Cardinals would give some of their reserves a chance to start the opener, and they battled the Crimson Hawks early. However, IUP would win the turnover battle through the first 10 minutes and were first to put points on the board. Alex Bastedo would take the pitch and sprinted over 50 yards into the try zone, and a successful conversion made it a 7-0 IUP lead. Wheeling would kick the ball back to IUP and a turnover forced by Marvel Benza would open the window for the offense. After an IUP penalty on the try line, Lawula Bata would take the restart and dove across the try line for the first Wheeling score of the day. James Holland would come on to attempt the conversion and sailed it through to tie the score at 7-7. Four minutes later, the crimson Hawks were within five meters of retaking the lead, but it was Holland who stopped them in their tracks, knocking the ball loose and giving Wheeling an opportunity.
Both teams would make pushes over the next 10 minutes, but neither team was able to catch the break they were looking for. It wasn't until the 29-minute mark that the Cardinals called on one of their veterans to break the stalemate. Wheeling would set up a scrum about 10 meters out and made a series of pitches down the sideline. It was Michael Muleya who would take the last of those pitches and dive across the try line. Holland would attempt the conversion from the sideline but couldn't angle it through as the Cardinals took a 12-7 lead. Once they got going it was hard to stop the Cardinal offense as the veterans took control. Just five minutes later,it would be Bata using his speed to get the Cardinals back on the board. He streaked down the sidelines before touching the ball down for Wheeling's third score of the day. Holland would once again miss the conversion but the Cardinals would have the lead heading into halftime at 17-7.
After taking some time for the halftime break, the Cardinals would see many of their starters play during the second half and take control of the game. It would take less than two minutes into the new half for Alex Nyamunda To make his presence known. He drove down to the near corner of the try zone and touched the ball down starting what would be a big half for the junior. He led the Cardinals with 11 tries a season ago, And scored four over the final 40 minutes of play. He entered the season just six tries shy of the career 15's record, And has lowered that number to two after his season opening performance. After going just 1-3 On conversions in the first half, Holland would find his consistency in the second half, making six of the seven kicks he attempted.
After Nyamunda scored the first two tries of the new half, IUP would get into the try zone at the 54 minute mark. Malcolm Johnson would take the ball in the try zone for the Hawks, And a missed conversion would make it a 31-12 game. Four minutes later, the 2025 CRC National 7's MVP Shadreck Mandaza would show off his speed juking past IUP defenders and running 80 yd before touching the ball down in the middle of the try zone. While he did not take on any of the kicking duties, Mandaza Looks to once again be a force for the Cardinal offense in 2025. The final three tries For the Cardinals were all firsts for their respective scorers. Nathan McDermott, Mychal Andrews, and Ntsika Maduba would all score tries over the final 20 minutes of play. Holland would go 2-3 on the conversions, bringing the game to its final score of 69-12.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Alex Nyamunda, who scored four tries and totaled 20 points in the contest? It would be a new career high for tries in a single match for the junior with all of those coming in the second half. James Holland finished right behind him with 14 points, going. 7-10 on conversions throughout the afternoon. The other multi-try scorer was Lawula Bata, who finished with two tries both in the first half. Shadreck Mandaza, Nathan McDermott, Michael Muleya, Mychal Andrews, and Ntsika Maduba would each add five Points to round out the offense.
The Wheeling University Men's Rugby Team returns to action on Saturday, September 6th, when they hit the road to face The University of Rio Grande, with kickoff at 1 PM.
