Wheeling, W. Va. - After being down 12-4 with 5:55 to go on Saturday, the Wheeling Women's Lacrosse team (0-1, 0-0) battled back on a 7-3 swing over the final 20 minutes of play. They look to keep that late game momentum alive on Wednesday when they travel to Shippensburg with opening draw at 3 PM. The Cardinals will look for their first win of 2026 and will look to do it on their first road trip of the season.
Last time out, the Cardinals would open the 2026 season at home, when they welcomed in Gannon University. Early on, it was a back-and-forth game, with each team scoring three goals in the first quarter. The first three goals would come in the first minute and a half, with Gannon holding a 2-1 lead, and Wheeling would come back to tie it up at 3-3. However, the middle of the game saw the Golden Knights go off, scoring six straight goals from the 11:23 mark of the 2nd quarter to the 13:16 mark of the third quarter. Gannon would lead 7-3 at halftime, and upped that lead to 12-4 with 5:55 left in the third. That is when the Cardinals took off, rattling off four straight goals to get back to within 14-9 with 7:29 to play. However, Gannon would get a key insurance goal a minute later and the Cardinals would end up falling 15-11.
Leading the late-game charge for the Cardinals was graduate student Sophia Cirone, who set a career-high with five goals in the game. She would tie for the team lead with six points, adding an assist to her five goals, and played a big role in the Cardinal's comeback. After scoring one goal over the first 40 minutes, Cirone would get back on the board at the 9:52 mark of the third quarter to make it a 9-4 game. As the Cardinals were coming down their final stretch, Cirone would start the 4-0 Cardinal run with a goal, and added her final in the final minute of the game to bring it to its final score of 15-11. Cirone was the team's third leading scorer last season and looks to continue her success this season.
The other Cardinal to get to the six point mark was Klara Domachowska, who finished with three goals and three assists to reach the six point mark. Domachowska regularly set up the offense when the Cardinals had the ball, and played a part in three of the team's goals during the comeback attempt. She would score the second goal of the 4-0 run, while assisting on the final goal of the run as well as the final goal of the night. Along with her offensive success, she was one of five Cardinals to finish with two caused turnovers on the day, while adding three groundballs and two draw controls to round out the effort. Leading the Cardinal draw control game was Ava Annuziata, who made her collegiate debut for the Cardinals. She would finish with four draw controls and one caused turnover as she made her presence known immediately on the field.
As they continue through their non-conference schedule, Wednesday will serve as the only road game during the first four game stretch. Wheeling went 3-4 on the road last season, including a non-conference win over Tiffin in their first road win of the 2025 season. It was a tale of two halves for Wheeling in their opener, being held to just three goals over the first 30 minutes, before exploding for eight goals in the final 30 minutes. The young Cardinal defense stiffened when it had to, allowing Wheeling to battle back in the game, and the defense looks to continue that momentum into game two. They will have their hands full trying to shut down a Shippensburg team that averaged 12.2 goals per game, and the offense will look to continue their second half momentum.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and the Raiders are meeting for the fourth time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 3-0. It will be their second trip to Shippensburg in program history, with the Cardinals going 0-1 in previous road contests. It will be the first meeting between the two programs since the 2-14 season, and the Cardinals have averaged just 3.33 goals per game across the first three games of the all-time match-up.
The two teams last met on March 14th, 2014, when the Cardinals fell to Shippensburg 18-5 at Bishop Schmitt Field. Former Cardinal Mary Burns led the way with two goals in the game, while adding two draw controls on the defensive side. Former Cardinals Jesse Tufnell, Sara Fitzsimon, and Shelby McClure each added a goal to round out the offense, while Former Cardinal Austin Maire added11 saves on 29 shots faced.
The Details
Opening Draw for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 3 PM inside the Robb Sports Complex on the campus of Shippensburg University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
