Wheeling, W. Va. – With the calendar turning to April, the final push is on for a spot in the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (5-6 2-2) found themselves right in the thick of that race Wednesday when they welcomed in the MEC-leading Frostburg State. The Bobcat offense came out fast and furious, and it was enough to sink the Cardinals 21-7, moving them to 2-2 in MEC play.
The highest scoring offense in the MEC came out as advertised, scoring five goals over the game's first 10 minutes to take a 5-0 lead. Wheeling would respond at the 3:56 mark of the first quarter, when Sophia Cirone made a move around the net and made it a 5-1 game. The senior would finish the day tying for the team lead with two goals on the day, while putting two of the three shots she took on the day on net. The effort got Cirone to the 20-goal mark on the season, making her the third different Cardinal to reach the mark this year. The Bobcats would put up two more goals before the quarter let out, and Frostburg State would lead 7-1 after 15 minutes of play. The Cardinals were outshot in the quarter 17-4, but the Cardinals were efficient with their shots, putting three of their four shots in the quarter on goal.
After two more Bobcat goals to start the second quarter, Cirone capped off her day following a caused turnover courtesy of Brooke Jeffrey. The Cardinals quickly moved the ball up field, with Trinity Rose getting the ball in her stick and finding Cirone for her second goal of the night. However, three more Frostburg State goals would start the running clock, and the Cardinals would have to respond to get it to stop. They would do just that after an Ava Annuziata Caused Turnover, as the Cardinals cleared the ball past the 30-yard line. Julia Daniels would set up the offense, and zig-zagged through the competition to get into the goal. It was the first of two goals for Daniels, who finished tied with Cirone for the team lead with two goals in the effort. She would end the day as the Cardinal's points leader, adding one assist to total three points in the game, while putting each of the two shots she took on the day on net.
The second of those two Daniels goals would come right before the half, as she took a pas from Klara Domachowska with 32 seconds to go and made it a 13-4 game. It once again stopped the running clock and sent the game into halftime with the Cardinals looking to keep the momentum going. As they came out for the third quarter, that quick strike offense kept going, needing just 49 seconds to get on the board again. After assisting on the final goal of the first half, Domachowska would do it all by herself after a Jeffery Draw Control. She scored her first goal of the day, rounding out a two point effort that saw her finish with one goal and one assist. Domachowska took four shots in the effort, putting two of those on net to round out her day. However, Frostburg State would go off over the final 14 minutes of the quarter, tallying four straight goals to make it a 17-5 game.
Wheeling would get on the board one more time before the quarter let out after a successful Wheeling clear. Daniels would bring the ball up the field and found Amanda Cook on the far side of the net. Cook cut across and converted the goal and the Cardinals headed into the fourth quarter with the score sitting at 17-6. It was the lone goal of the day for Cook, who took advantage of her late opportunity. The final Cardinal goal came at the 8:17 mark courtesy of senior Jovie Noack. Cook picked up a groundball following a Bobcat turnover and gave it to Noack, who circled around the net. When she came out on the other side, she found the back of the net for the Cardinal's seventh goal of the day. It would be her 26th goal of the season, moving her to second on the Cardinals while increasing her team-kead in points to 41. In the end, the Cardinals fell by the final score of 21-7, moving to 2-2 in MEC play.
Leading the defensive effort was Giavonna Perkins, who played 49 minutes, making 12 saves on 30 shots faced, finishing with a .400 save percentage. Meckenzie Caldwell would play the final 10 minutes, allowing three goals during her time in net. In front of her, Trinity Rose led the effort with four Caused turnovers and four ground balls, while leading the team with eight shots, five on net, and an assist to round out the day. Freshman Brooke Jeffrey continued her dominance in the draw controls to round out the day, picking up eight to fall just one shy of her career high.
The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday, April 4th, when they take on West Virginia Wesleyan with opening draw at 1 PM.
