CUA welcomes Washington & Lee to town on Homecoming
WASHINGTON - CUA looks to get back on track on Saturday when the Cardinals welcome Washington & Lee to Cardinal Stadium on Homecoming. CUA dropped a tough one-point decision at Emory & Henry last week, with the Wasps kicking a game-winning field goal with just 10 seconds remaining. The Cardinals led the game 14-0, but were unable to generate any additional points.
The Generals enter this weekend's contest coming off a loss of their own, falling at Bridgewater 31-14, which snapped their five-game winning streak.
CUA meets Washington & Lee for the 17th time on Saturday with the Generals holding a 13-3 series lead. The Cardinals' last win in the series was a 48-29 victory in 2008, but W&L has won three straight since, and eight of the past nine.
In his last five games, Mike Pitsenberger has averaged 76.8 yards on the ground, including a 127-yard effort at Carnegie Mellon. Pitsenberger has scored seven touchdowns during that time and totaled at least 19 carries on three occasions.
Back at home this weekend CUA looks for its fourth win in five games at Cardinal Stadium this season. The Cardinals are averaging 36.8 points and 375.5 yards of offense in their four home contests, having scored at least 27 points in each game. CUA's defense has played especially well at home, holding opponents to 33% on 3rd down, while causing 13 turnovers and registering nine sacks.
There is no secret to CUA's success. When the Cardinals score 30 or more points they are 3-0 this season and 5-1 over the last two years. When CUA does not hit the 30-point mark, it is 0-4 this year.
In his last three games, Conor Stueckler has registered 34 tackles for the Cardinals. That raises his season total to 71, which is good for fourth-best in the ODAC. Stueckler notched his 200th career tackle last week at Emory & Henry.
CUA's defense faces its stiffest challenge of the season on Saturday, facing a Washington & Lee offense that leads the ODAC in scoring (34.3), total offense (446.7), rushing offense (383.6), and first downs (23.1).
Freshmen Richard Roach and Aaron Hall have made their presence felt on defense for CUA this season. Roach has totaled 12 tackles, with a high of five at Emory & Henry, while Hall checks in with 17 stops, including seven at Carnegie Mellon, in addition to a pair of pass breakups.
CUA's quick-strike attack is still a big part of its offense, but the Cardinals have also shown the ability to put together sustained drives this year. In seven games, CUA has totaled 12 scoring drives of 10 or more plays. Last year, the Cards had 13 double-digit play scoring drives in 10 games.
Saturday's game will kick-off at 1 p.m. from inside Cardinal Stadium.
