Wheeling, W. Va. – Over their first nine games of the 2026 season, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (5-4, 2-0) has played at home six times. On Sunday, the team begins a stretch that flips the script when they travel to the University of Charleston with opening draw control at 11 AM. The Cardinals will be on the road for four of their next six games and they look to keep their success in conference play going.
Last time out, the Cardinals welcomed in Davis & Elkins and used a hot start to get things going. The Cardinals would score three goals in the first 10 minutes to take a 3-0 lead. The Senators would respond with their first goal two minutes later, and after one quarter, the Cardinals held a 5-3 advantage. The two teams would trade six goals in the second quarter, and the Wheeling lead held going into the locker room at 8-6. The third quarter was a defensive battle, with the two teams combining for just three goals over the 15 minutes and it would be a 10-7 Cardinal lead heading to the fourth quarter. The Caridnals offense would be the one to close the door, scoring first and putting up four goals over the final 15 minutes. They went on to win 14-9 and took home their second Mountain East Conference (MEC) win of the season.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was senior Sophia Cirone, who finished with a team-best six points in the effort. She scored three goals and added to that three assists to finish the effort, while putting three of the four shots she took on net. She would assist on the final goal of the Cardinal's 3-0 start to the game and score all two of her three goals before the half. However, when it came down to the final minutes, it was Cirone's passing skills that helped the Cardinals secure the victory. After Davis & Elkins cut the Cardinal lead to one after the break, Cirone would be the one to calm things down with a goal that made it 9-7. She rounded out the day with a pair of assists to round out the effort. Cirone has made her mark across the offense this season, sitting second on the team with 15 assists, while sitting this in both goals (16) and points (31), and looks to round out the month of March strong.
Continuing her recent string of success was Trinity Rose, who finished with a team-high four goals on the night. She would add one assist to finish with nine points on the night while putting six of her nine shots on net. It continued Rose's hot start to MEC play, giving her 10 goals, four assists, and 14 points over the last two games. Rose has once again been the leader of the Cardinal offense in 2026, scoring 25 goals while sitting second on the team with 31 points. Along with her offensive success, Rose has been a leader on the defensive end of the ball, sitting with a team-high 30 groundballs and 20 caused turnovers. The other defensive category is led by freshman Brooke Jeffrey, who finished with a team-best nine draw controls against Davis & Elkins. She has led the team with 39 draw controls on the season, and has earned the Cardinals several early offensive possessions that resulted in goals.
After taking off with a 2-0 start to conference play, the Cardinals find themselves in a tie at the top of the MEC early on. They have equal 2-0 mark to Frostburg State, and hold a one-game lead over their Sunday opponent The University of Charleston. Last season, the Cardinals finished as the conference's #4 seed and are looking to fight their way into the top two. With Dominican University in California automatically getting the #3 seed in the tournament field, the Cardinals would have to beat either Charleston or Frostburg State in order to have a chance at a first round bye. Last season, the Cardinals were swept in the season series against both teams and are looking to take their first games against both programs since coming back from hiatus. They are 1-2 on the road this season, and they look to get to .500 and keep their perfect record in conference play going.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles are meeting for the eighth time in program history on Sunday, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 5-2. Wheeling holds a 3-1 record on the road all-time, compared to a 2-1 record at home, with both of those losses coming tn last year's season series. Wheeling is averaging 14.86 goals per game in the all-time series, and has scored in double digits in six of the seven previous match-ups.
The last meeting between the two teams came back on April 16th, 2025, in a game that the University of Charleston would win 18-7. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Jovie Noack, who finished with two goals while putting three of her six shots on net. Trinity Rose would add two goals of her own while adding five draw controls, and former Cardinal Maisy Latus would lead the effort in net with 15 saves on 33 shots faced.
The Details
Opening draw of Sunday's game is scheduled for 11 AM inside the Welch Athletic Complex on the campus of The University of Charleston. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
