Tiffin, O.H- Following up on its historic home opener since the 2019 season, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (2-0), (0-0), began a long road trip with a meeting against the Tiffin Dragons in Ohio. Wheeling had their way all game long, but it came down to the wire in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, the Cardinals pulled together and came out on top 17-14 to fend off their fiery foe.

Wheeling stormed out of the gate early. Sophia Cirone fired a shot behind the goalie for the quick 1-0 lead in a minute, and some change had passed since the opening faceoff. Tiffin responded soon after with a pair. The Dragon's lead would not last long after Macy Davies drove into the lane and tied it up with 8:23 showing on the clock in the first quarter. Cirone found herself unguarded a minute later and took advantage of the defender's flat feet to give Wheeling the 3-2 lead. Tiffin was guilty of a foul, which awarded Jovie Novack a free run at the net to make it 4-2. The Dragons called for a timeout, but once play began again, Trinity Rose found the back of the net with 6:14 remaining in the opening quarter. A big save by senior goalkeeper Maisy Latus on one end sent the Cardinals flying to the other end. Tiffin fouled again, and Rose made them pay up, taking the Cardinal lead to 6-2 for her second of the match, prompting a change in net for the Dragons.  After a Tiffin goal, they were given a penalty with a minute left of play in the first quarter. It did not take much time at all for Rose to weave through the defense to net her third straight to close the quarter up 7-3.

The beginning of the second quarter saw Tiffin's offense start to test Latus, but her excellent positioning after facing multiple shot sequences in a row was proving to frustrate the Dragons. Caylin Kunze finally added a tally on the board with 6:43 left in the half. A timeout called by Head Coach Faith Flanagan was just what the doctor prescribed as the Cardinal's Paige Jankowski rushed the field to respond quickly. With halftime looming, the Dragon marched down the field and ended their offensive zone trip with a scoop-and-score from Katelyn Jarvis. However, Wheeling answered the door again with 21 seconds remaining as it was Cirone spinning away from the defender and completing the hat-trick to close out the first half with a 9-5 advantage. 

The Cardinals were assessed a few cards and forced to play short early in the third quarter. Wheeling was able to kill off these penalties, and as soon as they were at full strength, Jankowski received a flip from her teammate and widened the gap on the scoreboard, leading 10-5 with under 13 minutes. Julia Daniels found the back of the net at 10:36 in the third to add more insurance to the already massive Cardinal lead. Wheeling found themselves sitting for another penalty but held Tiffin from scoring. Davies cradled the ball inside the crease once the penalty expired and scored her second of the game, making it 12-5.

To round out the third quarter and begin the fourth, the Dragons hopped aboard the comeback train and proceeded to score five unanswered markers. Three came in the last six minutes of the third, and the other two scored 13 seconds apart at 13:14 and 13:01 in the final quarter. Jankowski was able to put a stake in the ground just past the 11-minute mark, but the heat was turned up 30 seconds later when Kunze flew in for her third marker to pull Tiffin to within two, 13-11. Both squads continued to look for ways to get on the board, and Tiffin was able to with 6:46 to play. Down by one, this was the closest the Dragons have been to the Cardinals since the first quarter. Cirone restored the two-goal lead one minute later with her fourth goal of the day. Then, Rose picked up her fourth of the day to put Wheeling up by three again at 15-12. The Dragons kept fighting as Lauren Walsh clawed back to respond quickly, but two quick shots from Klara Domachowska and Novak a minute away from each other all but sealed the game for the Cardinals. Tiffin mustered up one last tally late as time expired, with Wheeling defeating the Tiffin 17-14.

In the barn burner, Trinity Rose headlined the field with three goals and four assists for seven points on the day. Sophia Cirone evaded the defense and got past the goalie four times. Macy Davies and Paige Jankowski picked up a hat-trick and an assist each for four points. Jovie Novak saw the scoresheet twice, while Klara Domachowska and Julia Daniels were each credited with one goal. 

The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team will play its second of three road games when it travels to face off against the Fighting Scots on Wednesday, February 19th, in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The time of the game will be announced at a later date.