• Tournament Central

WISE, Va. (May 3) – Behind a tournament-record 10 goals from freshman Mackenzie Kaderabek (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's), the Wheeling Jesuit University women's lacrosse team advanced to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship with a 21-13 win over Shepherd Friday afternoon at Carl Smith Stadium.
 
The Cardinals (12-6), seeded third, advance to play the winner of the Charleston/UVa-Wise match in the MEC Tournament Championship on Sunday, May 5 in Wise, Virginia at 12 p.m.
 
Kaderabek, who was recently tabbed the MEC Freshman of the Year, matched a season-high and established a new MEC Tournament record with 10 goals. She also tied the single-game record for points in the process.
 
Senior Kate Calder (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) registered a career-high five goals to go with seven draw controls, while sophomore Bethany Wallingford (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) added three goals and one assist.
 
Shepherd (11-7) was the aggressor early in the match. The Rams, seeded second, opened up a 5-1 lead less than eight minutes into the match.
 
The tide turned when Calder notched a woman-up girl at the 20:34-mark of the first half that started a run of four-straight goals to tie the game at 5-5 with 16:11 to play until halftime.
 
Shepherd reclaimed the lead at 6-5 four minutes later, before the Cardinals closed the half with four-consecutive goals to take a 9-6 advantage into the break.
 
WJU controlled the first 20 minutes of the second half and built up its largest lead of the game at 18-8. The biggest run came when sophomore Paige Orbell (Severn, Md./Old Mill) scored with 17:47 left in the game to make the score 14-8. The Cardinals rolled off four more in-a-row over the next five minutes to establish the 10-goal cushion entering the final 10 minutes of the contest.
 
Shepherd managed to draw as close as seven, 19-12, near the five-minute mark of the game, but the Cardinal lead was too much to overcome for the Rams.
 
Freshman Karli Friend (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Merion) led the defensive efforts with three caused-turnovers and four ground balls, while sophomore goalkeeper Emma Stair (Westminster, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) posted seven saves in the win.
 
Wheeling Jesuit out-shot Shepherd 36 to 27 in the match.
 
The Cardinals will play for the MEC Championship on Sunday, May 5 at 12 p.m. in Wise, Virginia. 
 
WJU will be making its first MEC Championship appearance since 2017, when it won the title with a 14-8 win over Shepherd at Bishop Schmitt Field.