Women's Lacrosse 2/1/2018 2:27:00 PM Chris Myers

Cardinals Aim to Defend MEC Women’s Lacrosse Title in 2018

2018 Roster
2018 Schedule
2017 Final Stats
WHEELING, W.Va. – After reaching major preseason goals a year ago, the Cardinals have their sights set on another special run this spring. Wheeling Jesuit women's lacrosse ran through the Mountain East Conference and aim for a repeat of the success in the 2018 campaign.

The defending MEC Regular Season and Tournament champion Cardinals (10-7) have a talented and veteran foundation to continue the program's success this spring and go to potentially even new heights.

WJU has the four senior group of Kori Hickman (Cincinnati, Ohio), Lyndsay Carpenter (Davis, Calif.), and Markie Wright (Murray, Utah) and Brianna Wahle (Pataskala, Ohio) leading seventh-year head coach Tim Florence's crew as these Cardinals were three of the team's top six leading scorers and two of the best defenders from the 2017 squad. The four seniors have helped WJU post back-to-back double-digit win seasons and MEC Regular Season titles, before the team added the MEC tournament title last spring.

Coach Florence and his Cardinals open their drive to a MEC repeat on February 16^th at home against No. 9 Regis University with a first draw at 3 p.m. In fact, the WJU season opener will be the first of five Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Preseason Top 25 ranked teams with No. 15 Mercyhurst (Mar. 28 away), No. 21 Grand Valley State (Mar. 18 home), No. 23 Lock Haven (Mar. 6 away) and No. 24 Indianapolis (Mar. 3 away). WJU will have to face those five-ranked opponents, who were a combined 60-30 (.667) last season.

After an unblemished 5-0 league record last year, WJU looks to continues its MEC run of success, which is at 11-straight regular season victories.

With eight seniors departed, including both the MEC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in Elizabeth Hales and Holly Deckert, All-MEC First Team members attack Hickman and defender Carpenter are set to take over the top spots. Hickman set the WJU record for season assists with 37 and led the MEC at 2.47 per game. She also finished second overall a year ago to Hales with 22 goals and 59 total points scored, including a quality .579 shot percentage and a .895 shots on goal percentage.

Joining Hickman offensively at attack, MEC All-Freshman Team sophomore Hayley Holmquist (Temecula, Calif.) and junior Ally Coggins (Mt. Airy, Maryland) make for the top three offensive players. Battling an early season injury last spring and spending time recovering, Holmquist produced five goals in six matches played. Coggins hit double figures in goals with 11 to go with four assists, 19 ground balls and nine draw controls. Junior Kate Calder (Cincinnati, Ohio) returns to the offensive lineup, as well as where she has seen time at both attack and midfield in the past. Last year, Calder fired in six goals and assisted on another score, while she returns with the most draw controls (20) from 2017.

Newcomer freshmen Megan Mangia (Gahanna, Ohio) and Chrissy Conklin (Ford City, Pa.) will look to break into the offensive rotation and put some points on the scoreboard in their first years.

All-MEC Honorable Mention Wright and junior Taylor Booth (British Columbia, Canada) are set to handle the leadership among the Cardinals midfielders. Wright returns to finish her final season running both for the offensive and defensive sides as she netted 17 points last year (10 goals and seven assists), 15 ground balls and 11 draw controls.

Booth looks to increase her six-point second year where she fired home five goals and assisted on another WJU score. She scooped seven ground balls, caused three turnovers and won five draw controls. The rest of the Cardinals midfielders will come from the freshmen class of Paige Orbell (Severn, Md.), Gionna Alessandro (North Huntingdon, Pa.), Kelly Martyn (Baltimore, Md.), and Bethany Wallingford (Chillicothe, Ohio).

The WJU defensive unit should be a stout one with All-MEC First Team Carpenter, All-MEC Second Team Taylor Quigg and All-MEC Honorable Mention Wahle. The three experienced defenders will be without MEC Defensive Player of the Year Deckert, but the group will have pair of quality sophomores Sarah Artzer (Littleton, Colo.) and Eily Cogan (Columbus, Ohio) back with more force.

A major defensive threat, Carpenter, caused havic last year to a tune of 35 caused turnovers and grabbed 54 ground balls, both team bests. The senior won 19 draw controls, but she also showed her scoring prowess with 13 goals, four assists, and a .722 shot percentage.

Fellow senior Wahle is the defense's enforcer where she makes other team's offensive players pay for invading the WJU defense. Wahle forced 19 turnovers and pulled up 29 ground balls from the carpet in her 2017 efforts.

Quigg is set to continue her growth as a player in her third season. The junior scored a goal, but on defense caused 22 turnovers, won 11 draw controls and came away with 28 ground balls.

All-MEC Freshman Teamer Artzer snagged six ground balls, pulled down six draw controls and caused a pair of turnovers in her first year. In nine games, Cogan forced a turnover, won a draw control and had a ground ball.

In the net, the Cardinals will have four choices to replace All-MEC Honorable Mention goalie Maire Austin. Sophomore Renee Cline (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is joined by three freshmen of Conlin, who will be playing in net and at attack, Emma Stair (Westminster, Md.) and Liz Hanks (Cranberry Township, Pa.). Cline logged 162 minutes in seven games where she posted a 10.75 goals against average and 14 saves.

-GoCards-

Print Friendly Version