Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the non-conference portion of the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team's (2-4, 0-0), Head Coach Faith Flanagan has been challenging her team to be ready for Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. On Wednesday afternoon, the team faced their toughest challenge yet when they traveled to face the #7 team in the region in Slippery Rock University. The Rock's high octane offense showed why they are ranked early on and, despite the Cardinals battling throughout the night, they would fall 22-3 to move to 2-4 on the young season.
The Cardinal defense would face a flurry of shots from the Rock early, being outshot 12-1 in the first quarter, and starting goalkeeper Giavonna Perkins put in work in net for the Cardinals. She played the entire first half, facing 21 shots over the first 30 minutes of play, saving 10 of those shots. She finished with a .476 save percentage, her highest mark of the year, and stopped things from getting worse. It moved her season save percentage to .410 across 216 minutes in net, and moves her to second on the team in save percentage and first on the team with 41 saves this season. Of her 10 saves in the game, six of them would come in the first quarter as she kept the Rock to just four goals over the first 15 minutes.
As the game moved to the second quarter, Slippery Rock's offense just kept coming, extending their run to 10-0 with three minutes to play before half. The Cardinals were looking to get on the board before halftime, and it would be senior Jovie Noack who got them on the board. After a Perkins save, the Cardinals completed a successful clear, and Danielle Anderson would bring the ball into the attack zone. She would find Noack cutting in front of the net and the Cardinals got their first goal of the night to make it a 10-1 game. It was the first of two goals on the day for Noack, who finished with two goals and assisted on another to finish with three points. It was the third straight game that saw Noack finish with at least two goals and one assist, as she moved into the team lead with 15 goals on the season.
Slippery Rock would reach the 10-goal mark just before the half, heading into the locker room with an 11-1 lead, and the Cardinals were trying to break the running clock in the second half. Slippery Rock would extend their lead to 11 just a minute into the new half, before another Cardinal veteran would get them going. After earning her 100th career draw control against Lake Erie, Trinity Rose would win the ensuing draw control and sent the ball down field. It would get into the stick of Noack, who came around the back of the net and hit Rose for the second Cardinal goal of the day. It would be the only goal for Rose, who finished with one goal while leading the team with three shots taken. She put two of those shots on net, and scored her 14th goal of the season. Along with her offensive success, Rose would finish with a caused turnover and two draw controls in the effort to round out the day.
The Rock would take a 19-2 lead by the end of the third quarter, and reached the 20-goal mark two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Cardinal's final goal would come courtesy of Noack, who took a pass from Sophia Cirone and found the back of the net. It was the final point of the day for the Cardinal offense, and the depth pieces would come in to round out the effort. The Cardinals would use two different goalies in the second half, with Meckenzie Caldwell and Keira Desmond each seeing time in net. Caldwell would play the third quarter, making one save on nine shots faced, while Desmond took the final 15 minutes of play. She would face six shots down the stretch, saving three of them for a .500 save percentage on the day. In the end, it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell 22-3, but the young Cardinals showed fight against one of the top teams in the region.
The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday, March 14th, when they take on the University of Findlay with opening draw at 1 PM.
