Wheeling, W. Va. – As the season comes down to its final two weeks, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (8-7, 5-3) battled for a playoff spot on Sunday when they hosted the University of Charleston. Defense played a big role early, and the Cardinals started strong with the lead after one quarter. However, the Golden Eagle's offense pressured throughout the game, and the Cardinal lead would not hold as they fell 16-6.
Fueling the strong start for the Cardinals was Giavonna Perkins, who was tested early and often throughout the afternoon. In the game's first minute, Perkins would face a pair of shots, making the save on both of them to keep Charleston off the board. Her counterpart would be tested after a successful Wheeling clear, and she came through with her first save to keep it a scoreless game. It wouldn't be until the 11:16 mark that the first goal was scored after another Perkins save. Sophia Cirone brought the ball up the field and found a cutting Trinity Rose for the score. It gave the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead, and started what was a big offensive day for the junior. A minute and a half later, Rose was right back at it as she took the ball to the net unassisted, and Wheeling's lead was pushed to 2-0 with 9:48 left in the first.
The Cardinals were held off the board for the remainder of the quarter, with a Charleston goal by Darby Stolz being the only tally over the final nine minutes of the quarter. Wheeling held a 2-1 lead heading into the second quarter, and once again turned to Rose to get that goal right back. After Cirone caused a turnover, the Cardinals would go coast-to-coast on the clear, with Macy Davies racing down field. She would connect with Rose, who scored her third goal of the day and the Cardinals lead grew to 3-1. With nine minutes to go before the half, the Golden Eagles showed just how quick their offense could be, scoring two goals in under a minute to tie things up at 3-3. Wheeling was looking for a response and got one with 6:22 left before the halftime break. It was once again Rose who got them going, taking advantage of a Charleston turnover and turning it into her fourth goal of the night.
The Golden Eagles would not relent before the break, scoring twice, and the Cardinals trailed 5-4 at halftime. The Cardinals would keep pace with Charleston early, but by halftime they were out shot at a 17-9 clip. Of the nine shots they took in the half, eight of them landed on net as the Cardinals continued to be efficient shooters on the field. As they came out of the half, Charleston would score the first goal of the half, but the Cardinals kept pace at the 9:30 mark. The defense forced a blocked shot and Wheeling cleared the ball down the field. Klara Domachowska would set up the offense and found Jovie Noack, who took a behind the back shot and put it in the back of the net. It would make it a 6-5 game, but that would be as close as they would get as Charleston went off over the final quarter and a half.
Just two minutes later, what was a one-goal deficit turned into a four-goal deficit as Charleston got rolling. They would score six straight goals over the final nine minutes of the third and had Wheeling down 12-5. Wheeling would break the run at the 2:30 mark, when Domachowska drove in and found the back of the net unassisted to make it 12-6. However, Charleston scored once more before the quarter was out and led 13-6 heading into the final quarter. Over the final 15 minutes, Charleston would outshoot Wheeling 10-4, with Wheeling putting two of those four shots on net. However, the Cardinals were held off the board and Charleston added three more tallies before all was said and done. They got the running clock started with a minute to play and the final minute ticked away on a 16-6 Cardinal loss.
Leading the effort on the day was Rose, who scored four goals and totaled four points in the effort. She got the Cardinals started, scoring the first four of the game for the Cardinals while putting four of her five shots on net. Klara Domachowska finished right behind her with one goal and one assist, while Jovie Noack rounded out the goal scoring. Sophia Cirone and Macy Davies would each add assist for the final two points to round out the night. Giavonna Perkins battled in net, finishing with 17 saves on 33 shots faced, while Brooke Jeffery and Lela Plouse each tied with Rose for the team lead with two caused turnovers.
The Wheeling Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, April 15th when they travel to Frostburg State with opening draw at 5 PM.
