Wheeling, W. Va. - As the regular season comes down to its final two weeks, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (8-7, 5-3) are looking to officially punch their ticket to the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament. They have a chance to do just that on Wednesday, when they travel to Frostburg State with opening draw at 5 PM. Wheeling officially clinches their postseason spot with a win or a Point Park loss to Charleston, bringing the Cardinals back to the postseason for the second year in a row.
Last time out, the Cardinals would host the University of Charleston in a game that was ruled by defense early on. Wheeling would get on the board twice in the game's first six minutes, and held Charleston to just one score over the first 15 minutes. Wheeling extended its lead to 3-1 four minutes into the second quarter, but the Golden Eagles caem roaring back. Charleston went on a 5-1 run over the final 9:48 of the half and Wheeling went into the locker room trailing 5-4. Coming out of the break, the University of Charleston would get on the board at the 12:26 mark, and Wheeling answered two minutes later. That would be one of two goals scored for the Cardinals in the quarter, and Charleston would put up an eight spot that had them leading 13-6 heading into the final quarter. Wheeling would be held off the board over the final 15 minutes, and would end up falling by the final score of 16-6.
Leading the way for the Cardinals for the second straight game was junior Trinity Rose, who finished with four goals on the night. She was Wheeling's leading shooter, taking five shots on the night, and was efficient putting four of the five shots she took on net. She also continued her strong contribution on the defensive side, finishing with two caused turnovers, one ground ball, and one draw control to round out the day. Rose has been on an offensive tear as of late, scoring 10 goals in her least two games, while totaling 11 points during that stretch. It has propelled her up the MEC goal scoring leaderboards, as she sits third entering Wednesday's game with 43 goals while sitting fourth with an average of 2.86 goals per game. The 2025 First Team All-MEC honoree looks to continue leading the way for the Cardinals as they ebegin the postseason run.
Despite the loss, sophomore Giavonna Perkins continued her strong performance in net as of late, making 17 saves on 33 shots faced to put up a .515 save percentage on the day. Of those 17 saves, six of them came during the first quarter as she kept the high-powered Golden eagle offense to just one goal over the 15 minutes. Over the past week, Perkins has made 27 saves on 56 shots faced for a .482 save percentage, and raised her season save percentage to .471. In front of Perkins, the Cardinal's defense has been led by Brooke Jeffery, who tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers. It was the second straight game that the freshman has finished with multiple turnovers, and marked the third straight game where she has had at least one caused turnover in a game.
After the loss to Charleston this past week, the Cardinals currently sit third in the conference at 5-3, behind Charleston (7-1) and Frostburg State (6-1). A win on Wednesday, or a Point Park loss to Charleston will send the Cardinals back to the MEC Tournament for the second season in a row. While they can't catch either Charleston or Frostburg for one of the top two spots in the conference, the Cardinals can make the battle for the top spot interesting. With a win on Wednesday, they would give the Golden Eagles sole possession of first place in the conference, forcing Frostburg State to have to have to win out to claim the top spot. Wheeling looks to maintain their hold on the #3 spot in the conference, which would give them the #4 seed heading into the tournament, with Dominican University automatically taking the #3 seed, and allowing them to host the MEC Play-in game on April 26th.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the fifth time in program history on Wednesday, and the second time during the 2026 season. Frostburg State has won each of the first four meetings between the two teams, with Wheeling making their third trip to Bobcat stadium, where they sit 0-2. Wheeling has scored at least six goals in three of the four previous meetings and are looking to build on that in the regular season series finale on Wednesday.
The first meeting between the two programs came back on April 1st, in a game that Frostburg State would win 21-7. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Sophia Cirone, who finished with two goals while taking three shots and putting two of those on net. Julia Daniels would also have a two goal game, adding one assist to finish with three points, while, Giavonna Perkins finished with 12 saves on 30 shots faced for a .400 save percentage.
The Details
Opening draw for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 5 PM inside Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Frostburg State University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
