Shippensburg, PA. – For the first time in 2026, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (0-2, 0-0) hit the road to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The Cardinals kept things close through the first quarter of play, but the Raiders offense pulled away in the second quarter and the Cardinals fell 20-4. Three of Wheeling 's four goals came in the first half as the Cardinals drop to 0-2 in their non-conference schedule.
After battling back in their previous game against Gannon, the Cardinals carried some of that momentum with them into Wednesday's game. Shippensburg would be the first on the board at the 6:09 mark of the first, but the Cardinals were not too far behind. With 4:52 to go in the quarter, Brooke Jeffery caused a turnover and the Cardinals took advantage quickly moving the ball to the offensive zone. Trinity Rose would be the one to end up with the ball in her stick, and she dumped the pass off to an open Jovie Noack. The senior would complete the play for her second goal of the season and Wheeling tied things up at 1-1. Rose would win the ensuing draw control, and the Cardinals threatened once again on the next possession, but Sophia Cirone was denied by the Raider's Leah Kramer to keep it a 1-1 game. The score would remain tied until the final minute of play, when Shippensburg's Olivia Glinski found the back of the net with 46 seconds to play to send the Raiders into the second quarter with a 2-1 advantage.
The shots were sitting pretty even through the first 15 minutes with Shippensburg holding a 7-4 advantage. The Cardinals would have the ball to start the second quarter but a turnover gave the Raiders the ball back. They would respond with their third goal of the day just 31 seconds into the second and upped their advantage to 3-1. It would be the first of three straight goals for Shippensburg over the next five minutes and they upped their advantage to 5-1 with 10:35 to go before the half. After a draw control win by the Cardinals, a Shippensburg Yellow Card set Wheeling up with a chance to break the run. They would do just that as Cirone connected with Julia Daniels for the man-up goal, cutting the Raider lead to 5-2. However, five minutes later, that lead would increase to 9-2 and Wheeling was looking for another answer before the half. It would once again come from Daniels, who took a pass from Trinity Rose with one second left and send the game into the locker room sitting at 9-3.
As the game went on, Shippensburg's offense became more and more potent, taking double digit shots in each of the next two quarters. The third quarter would be their busiest, taking 14 shots and putting 12 of those on net. Despite a busy quarter from goalie Giavonna Perkins, who made a game high five saves in the quarter, Shippensburg would put seven straight up on the Cardinals. Wheeling would play on their heels for most of the quarter, getting just two shots off and putting one of those on net. The score would swell to 16-3 by the fourth quarter, and the Cardinals would look to keep fighting down the stretch. The defense would do their part, stepping up over the final 15 minutes after facing 12 more shots, eight on net. Perkins would make four saves down the stretch, and the front line forced four shots to miss the target. The defense would also force one turnover in the fourth quarter, but it was ultimately seven Cardinal turnovers in the quarter, and 31 overall that would lead to their demise.
The Raider run would continue into the fourth quarter, with Shippensburg scoring the first three goals of the final 15 minute frame. Wheeling would get the ball back and brought the run to an end with 4:32 showing in regulation. Noack would circle behind the net and sent a pass to Trinity Rose in the middle of the defense. Rose would do her part to complete the play, scoring her first goal of the day and the Cardinals scored their fourth and final goal of the day. It would end up being their final shot of the day, and Shippensburg found the back of the net one final time to bring the game to its final score of 20-4. When the Cardinals did get their chances on offense, they made the most of them, putting nine of the 12 shots they took on the day on net. Unlike their first game of the season, the Cardinals were able to keep it close early, but the onslaught of Raider shots became too much to handle.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was midfielder Julia Daniels, who picked up her first multi-goal game of the season. The sophomore finished with two goals, while taking three total shots and putting two of those on net. The other two Cardinals to find the back of the net were Trinity Rose and Jovie Noack, who each finished with one goal on the day. Rose would add two assists to finish second on the team with three points, while Noack and Sophia Cirone each added assists to round out the day. On the defensive end, Rose and Annuziata each finished with two caused turnovers, while Brooke Jeffery added a team-best five draw controls. Giavonna Perkins got the start in net, finishing with 12 saves on 31 shots faced, while Keira Desmond added two saves while facing three shots.
The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, February 25th, when they host Shepherd with face-off at 3 PM.
