Cardinals close out season Saturday against Eagles on Senior Day
WASHINGTON - The 2012 season comes to a close on Saturday afternoon when CUA welcomes Bridgewater to Cardinal Stadium on Senior Day. The Cardinals are attempting to snap a three-game losing streak, which includes a 24-10 setback at Guilford last weekend. CUA pulled to within 16-10 midway through the 4th quarter, before the Quakers scored one final touchdown to seal the win. Bridgewater enters Saturday's contest looking to move above .500 in the ODAC after the Eagles fell to Randolph-Macon 38-26 last weekend.
CUA looks to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Eagles that includes a last-second 22-19 loss last year in Virginia. The Cardinals last win in the series was a 35-14 victory in 1999.
Junior Conor Stueckler enters this weekend with 104 tackles this season, including a career-high 19 against Washington & Lee two weeks ago. Steuckler is the first Cardinal with more than 100 tackles since Anthony Delborrell finished with 130 stops in 2007.
Junior Mike Pitsenberger is CUA's leading rusher with 531 yards on 124 carries. The Maryland native enters the season finale with nine rushing touchdowns on the year. Should Pitsenberger find the end zone one more time, he'll be the first Cardinal with double-digit rushing TDs since Dan Boyle scored 14 in 2000.
CUA is leading the ODAC in stopping opponents on 4th down. The Cardinals have allowed teams to convert only 34.5% of their 4th down chances, including four games with no successful conversions.
Senior Vinny Cortese ranks seventh in the ODAC with 9.5 tackles for loss. The Connecticut native made 3.0 tackles behind the line of scrimmage last week and has three games this season with at least 2.0 tackles for loss.
After averaging just 67.1 rushing yards on an average of 24.9 attempts per game last season, CUA has seen those numbers jump to 120.4 yards on 33.6 attempts this season. The Cardinals have rushed for more than 100 yards seven times this year, compared to just once in 2011.
The Cardinals have outscored their opposition by a combined count of 51-37 during the 1st quarter this season. CUA has led at the end of one quarter in five games, trailed in three and was tied once.
Prior to Saturday's game, CUA will honor its 27-member senior class, which includes, Anthony Albanese, Kyle Bernard, Billy Blanco, Alonzo Cooke, Greg Cordivari, Vinny Cortese, Thomas Fazio, Jason Howard, Alex King, Ryan Klein, Mike McCarthy, Marc McEvoy, Timbo McGarry, Ralph Martello, Kenny Meyer, Garrett Norris, Drew Papas, Sean Pearson, Troy Robinson, Zolen Rodriguez, Kevin Ross, Pete Sanders, Rob Schaetzl, Wes Stringfield and Joe Tretter.
Saturday's Senior Day contest will kick-off at 1 p.m. from inside Cardinal Stadium.
