Box Score The Case Western Reserve University defense put together its most commanding performance of the 2022 season to date, but it was not enough for the Spartans, who suffered a 14-13 loss to Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon.
The loss drops the Spartans to 6-3 on the year, including a 5-2 record in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, while Westminster improved to 6-3 with a 5-2 PAC record.
CWRU allowed Westminster to pick up just four first downs in the game and held the Titans to just 121 total yards of offense in the game, including just 29 passing yards. The Spartans also held an edge of over nine minutes in time of possession in the game. However, Westminster scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half, the first with one minute left in the opening quarter on a drive that started on the CWRU 20-yard line after a short punt, and the second on a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown on the following drive.
The 14 points would prove to be enough for the Titans. CWRU took an early 3-0 lead on its first drive of the game with a 25-yard field goal by Joseph Rhodes V with 8:27 left in the opening quarter, but those would be the only points of the period for the Spartans, who trailed 14-0 at halftime.
Sophomore quarterback Ian Kipp capped off a nine-play, 74-yard drive on the Spartans' first drive of the second half with a two-yard touchdown run to pull CWRU back within a score, 14-10, with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter. With 3:47 left in the game, Rhodes converted his second field goal of the game, this time from 26-yards out, to make it a one-point contest.
CWRU had one final chance to take the lead in the game, driving to the Westminster 30-yard line with 33 seconds remaining. However, on fourth and six, Rhodes was sent out to attempt a 47-yard field goal that missed, allowing the Titans to kneel on the football to run out the clock for the win.
Junior linebacker Sean Torres led the Spartans with nine tackles (eight solo) including one for a loss, and sophomore safety Nate Cikalo added eight tackles (six solo) with one for a loss and an interception. Senior running back Antonio Orsini led the team with 88 rushing yards, with sophomore running back Gage Duesler adding 46 rushing yards on the day.
The setback also officially eliminated the Spartans from contention for the 2022 PAC Title and clinched the league championship for 19th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University. Case Western Reserve will host the Tartans for the 36th-annual Academic Bowl next weekend in the team's season finale at DiSanto Field.
