WJU Women’s Lacrosse – Game Preview – Cardinals Welcome Rams for Friday Showdown

By: Michael McDonald, Assistant Sports Information Director

Markie Wright and the Cardinals welcome the Shepherd Rams for a 4 p.m. match on Friday.

Women's Lacrosse | 4/17/2017 11:14:00 AM

WHEELING, W.Va. – The 2016 regular season champion Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals welcome the defending tournament champion Shepherd Rams to town this Friday for what will certainly be an exciting women's lacrosse match.

The Cardinals and Rams face off at 4 p.m. on Friday on the turf of Bishop Schmitt Field.

Friday's game notes:
The two clubs have met at least once each of the last five seasons. Shepherd holds the series advantage over the Cardinals, but the two clubs split last year's meetings one game apiece.

Wheeling Jesuit enters the match winners of its last two outings, which both were MEC victories. The Cardinals are 4-1 on the season when playing on their home turf.

Shepherd has won its last three outings and is also 2-0 in league play. The Rams, however, are 0-5 on the road.

2016 meeting:
The 2016 meetings were split one match apiece, with the Cardinals winning in Shepherdstown, 11-10, during the regular season. Elizabeth Hales fired five goals on eight shots to lead the Cardinal offense. Olivia Krock had two goals while Kori Hickman assisted on a pair of WJU scores. Holly Deckert charted a monster defensive game consisting of seven ground balls and five caused turnovers. Lyndsay Carpenter added three ground balls and three caused turnovers while Brianna Wahle had a pair of each to contribute.

In the 2016 Mountain East Conference Championship, the Rams prevailed, 17-10. Paige Plesich led WJU with a five-point outing, three goals and two assists. Mary Burns added a pair of goals and an assist while Krock and Hickman matched their game-one production, two goals and two assists, respectively.

WJU Stat leaders:
Hales continues to lead WJU in points, goals, and assists. Hales has scored 31 times and assisted on 19 other goals for her 50 points. Hickman remains in second with 16 assists and 11 goals for 27 season points. Burns and Plesich have tallied 19 and 18 points, respectively. Carpenter (8 goals, 3 assists, 11 points) and Markie Wright (6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points) complete the double-digit point scorers for WJU.

On the defense, Carpenter has caused a team-best 26 turnovers while scooping up 37 ground balls. Deckert has forced 18 turnovers and grabbed 27 ground balls while Taylor Quigg comes in with 19 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Wahle adds eight caused turnovers and 12 ground balls to the mix. Goalie Maire Austin ranks third in ground balls (22) and has stopped 85 shots this season.

Shepherd Stat leaders:
Brooke Hunley paces Shepherd with her 38 season points. Hunley has scored 28 goals and dished out 10 assists. Haley Price leads the Rams in goals (31) and has handed out five helpers. Courtney Matthews has 26 points on the season and Lillian Funke has 21 points to date.

Lyric Feingold-Conaway leads the defense with 13 caused turnovers and 24 ground balls. Anna Munford ranks second in ground balls (25) and caused turnovers (10). Casey Hickman has stopped 113 shots this season while scooping up 26 ground balls.

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