Wheeling, W. Va. - On Tuesday, the Cardinals got momentum rolling with their first win of the 2026 season against Chestnut Hill. They were able to keep the good times rolling Saturday at Bishop Schmitt Field, when they welcomed in Lake Erie College to wrap up a three-game homestand. Wheeling scored 16 goals over the first 30 minutes of play, and rode that momentum to a 25-2 win as they moved to 2-3 on the young season, with both those wins coming at Bishop Schmitt Field.
The Cardinals spread the ball around early, with three different Cardinals getting on the board in the first six goals, but it was junior Trinity Rose leading the way. Rose would score three times in the first 10 minutes of play, kicking off what was a season-high effort. Rose would finish with seven goals and one assist, totaling eight points in the effort and accounting for just over a third of the Cardinal's offensive output. She was also the most efficient shooter on the field, putting all seven of the shots she took on net, while impacting the defensive side of the ball with three caused turnovers, four ground balls, and two draw controls. With the effort, Rose set a new season high and propelled herself right back to the top of the Cardinal leaderboards, tying for the team lead with 13 goals this season.
All seven of Rose's goals would come in the game's first half, with her final coming just seven seconds before the halftime horn blew. The next Cardinal to hit a hat trick was the one to officially start the running clock in senior Jovie Noack. After putting up seven goals the game before, Noack had two in the net before halftime, and finished with three total in the effort. She would add four assists on the day, setting a new career-high, to finish with seven points in the effort. She was one of two other Cardinals to complete a hat trick, with Sophia Cirone and Julia Daniels each also reaching the three-goal mark. Like Noack, Cirone would add two assists to her ledger, and finished third on the team with five points in the effort. Julia Daniels would round things out with her first career hat trick, finishing with three goals, while putting three of her six shots on the afternoon on net.
While the offense was relentless, the defense denied several Lake Erie chances throughout the afternoon. As a team, Wheeling combined for 15 caused turnovers, while forcing the Storm to turn the ball over a total of 26 times in the contest. Leading the effort was Rose, who finished with three caused turnovers in the effort, while Cirone and Cameron Daciw were right behind her with two each. Lela Plouse would tie with Rose for the team lead with four groundballs, while 10 total Cardinals finishing with at least two groundballs in the effort. In the draw control game, the Cardinals would win 18 of the 24 draw controls on the night, with freshman Brooke Jeffery continuing her success in the circle. She finished with a team-high seven draw controls to round out a big day for the Cardinal defense.
In net, all three Cardinals would see action, with Giavonna Perkins getting the start for the third game in a row. Perkins would play the first 24 minutes of the game, leaving when the running clock was initiated, and made two saves on four shots faced in the effort. It brought her save total for the season to 31 as she continues to make improvements on her return from injury. Following her was fresh,man Keira Desmond, who finished with one save on one shot faced. The freshman played the final 20:51 of the first half and holds the Cardinal's highest save percentage of the season at .556, saving five of the nine shots she has faced. Rounding out the effort was Meckenzie Caldwell, who played the final 15 minutes in net. She would make three saves on three shots faced to round out the night, picking up her first career shutout performance.
As the game went on, the Cardinals had the chance to sub in their depth players, and move some of their defenders up on attack. Two Cardinals would end up scoring their first career goals in the effort, with both coming on the final two goals of the night. The first came with 9:44 to play after Jocelynn Fortner sent a shot wide of the net. The Cardinals would save the ball from going out of bounds, and Cirone would connect with Izzy Iway, who was crossing in front of the net. Iway would shoot the ball around the goalkeeper for her first career goal and made it a 24-2 game. The final strike would come with one second remaining, with Wheeling firing off three straight shots with under a minute of play. It would come courtesy of Aleks Mayne, who came up on the offensive end, and scored her first career goal to finish out the 25-2 win.
The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, March 11th, when they travel to Slippery Rock, with opening draw at 4 PM.
