Charleston, W. Va. - After two straight wins to start their Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (5-5, 2-1) looked to keep things going on the road. They traveled down to The University of Charleston, and early on battled with the Golden Eagles, but it wasn't enough as they fell 20-12. They took their first conference loss of the season, as they start a stretch that will see them play four of their next six games away from Bishop Schmitt Field.
The Cardinal defense would get things started when senior Sophia Cirone caused a turnover on the Golden Eagle's first possession. The Cardinal would bring the ball up field and, after a successful Cardinal clear, Ava Annuziata would open the offense. She connected with senior Jovie Noack on the man-up goal and the Cardinals had an early 1-0 advantage. Klara Domachowska would win the next draw control and the Cardinal offense was back on attack. Noack would get the ball in her stick and this time dumped it off to Macey Davies, who completed the play and gave the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage. Wheeling's defense would pressure the Golden Eagles, allowing just one shot over the first four minutes of play. The Cardinals capitalized with 11:24 to go in the quarter, as Cirone took the ball to the net and scored unassisted to make it a 3-0 game.
The Cardinals kept Charleston down but not out, as they slowly battled back throughout the quarter. They scored four goals over the final 11 minutes, tying the game with 1:25 to go in the quarter. They would get the final score with 43 seconds to play and took a 4-3 lead into the second quarter. The scoring streak extended into the second quarter, as they tallied the first two goals of the quarter to build a 6-3 lead. A Golden Eagle foul with 13:38 to go set Wheeling up with a free position and Cirone notched her second goal of the night to make it a 6-4 game. A green card would give the Cardinals a free possession, and Wheeling would take advantage with a senior connection from senior Trinity Rose to Julia Daniels. Daniels would take the ball and put it in the back of the net to bring it back to a 6-5 game with 13:06 to go before half.
It would start a 4-0 swing for the Cardinals as they took their second lead of the game before half. The Cardinals tied the game at the 8:23 mark of the second quarter, when Daniels got the ball in her stick and found Noack. The senior put her second goal of the day in the net and the game was tied at 6-6. Just over two minutes later, the Cardinals would have another opportunity after a shot that hit the crossbar and landed into Giavonna Perkins's stick, and the he Cardinals cleared the ball across the field. Domachowska would set things up offensively and hit Rose on a cut in front of the net. The senior sling the ball to the netting and Wheeling was back on top 7-6 with 6:16 left before halftime. However, the Golden Eagles would not be held down for long, scoring four times in the final six minutes and they entered halftime with a 10-7 advantage.
As the new half began, two more Golden Eagle goals made it a 12-7 game and Charleston would register five goals in the quarter. Wheeling would counte with two of their own, with Rose picking up a goal and then assisting Noack on the other goal of the quarter , as Wheeling trailed 15-9 with one quarter to play. The Cardinals would try to mount one more comeback effort in the fourth, scoring the first two goals and making it a four-goal affair. The first came four minutes in when Domachowska successfully cleared the ball and took it to the net to make it a 15-10 game. One minute later, Amanda Cook would get the ball in her stick after a Charleston turnover and she would sling the ball to Davies. Davies completed the goal and made it a 15-12 game. However, Charleston ended things by scoring four of the final five goals as they went on to win 20-12.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was senior Jovie Noack, who finished with four goals and one assist to finish with five points on the night. She would put six of her seven shots on net in the game, while scoring two goals during the first half, including the game opener. Three other Cardinals finished with multi-goal efforts on the day, with Sophia Cirone, Macy Davies and Trinity Rose each finishing with a pair of goals. Rise would add two assists on the day, tying Julia Daniels for the team lead. On the defensive end, Giavonna Perkins would get the start in net, saving 14 of the 34 shots she faced. Brooke Jeffrey would lead the effort in front of the net, finishing with two caused turnovers.
The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, April 1st, when they host Frostburg State at 3 PM.
