Frostburg, MD. – As they enter the final full week of the regular season, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (8-8, 5-4) traveled to Frostburg, Maryland for a battle against the #2 team in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Frostburg State would put their foot on the gas pedal right from the beginning, scoring 15 first half goals, and the Cardinals could not recover, falling 21-7 to drop to 5-4 in MEC play. Despite the loss, the Cardinals officially clinched their second straight trip to the 2026 MEC Lacrosse Tournament, thanks to a Point Park loss to Charleston.  

Wheeling entered the day needing either a win or a Point Park loss to Charleston, and as the game in Charleston, West Virginia went final, their playoff rate was officially sealed. Wheeling will be led on the postseason run by a veteran group, and those veterans lead the way against Frostburg State throughout the night. Sophia Cirone and Trinity Rose would tie for the team lead with three points, with each finishing with two goals and one assist. Rose would be the team leader with six shots, four on goal, while Cirone brought the efficiency with all three of her shots landing on net. Three other Cardinals would find their way on the scoresheet on the night, with Macy Davies, Amanda Cook, and Jovie Noack each getting on the board with a goal. Noack would lead the team's passing game, finishing with two assists, while the final four Cardinal assists were spread out between four different players. The Cardinals would split the goaltending duties, with Giavonna Perkins getting the start, making eight saves on 22 shots faced, while Keira Desmond finished behind her with four saves on 11 shots faced. 

As the game got underway, Wheeling's defense would have to once again, facing three shots through the first five minutes. She would make the save on all three shots, and the Cardinal offense would support her after a successful clear. Sophia Cirone would bring the ball up the field and found Trinity Rose in the corner of the net. She would sling the ball past the goalie and Wheeling would take an early 1-0 lead. However, the Cardinal lead would last about a minute as Frostburg State won the ensuing draw control and on that next possession would get a free position goal from Maddie Russell to tie the game. Frostburg State would put the pressure on the Wheeling defense throughout the first quarter, outshooting the Cardinals 14-2, while putting eight of those 14 shots on net. Perkins would put in work, making five saves on those eight shots on goal, but after the first 15 minutes, Wheeling would trail 5-1. 

With five unanswered goals to start the second, Frostburg State would push the run to eight straight goals before the Cardinals got their next opportunity. It came off the back of a caused turnover by Rose, and the Cardinals would set up their offense. Brooke Jeffery brought the ball into the offensive zone, and would find senior Jovie Noack as Wheeling broke the run and made it an 8-2 game. The Cardinals were looking to start a run of their own and another Rose turnover 30 seconds later would get them going. Rose would pick up the groundball and shoveled a pass to Noack. This time, the senior would connect with Noack, and the Cardinals got things back to a five-goal game at 8-3. The hot streak for the Cardinals would continue after a free position save by Perkins and a Bobcat Green Card set Wheeling up for a man-up situation. Rose would have the ball in her stick, and she passed the ball to Amanda Cook, who pushed Wheeling's run to three straight goals with her first of the night. 

With the score sitting at 8-4 with 8:35 to go in the half, Frostburg State would hit their second run of the half, scoring the final seven goals of the half. Wheeling would go into the locker room trailing 15-4, and would break the Bobcat run as they started the new half. After a wide Frostburg State shot, the Cardinals came up the field and Macy Davies would set things up. She connected with Rose for her second goal of the game and the Cardinals made it a 15-5 affair. However, a green card for the Cardinals would set up Frostburg State's offense, and they would hit a 4-0 run to end the quarter. Frostburg State would lead 19-5 heading into the final quarter and the running clock continued to roll. The Cardinals would put two more goals on the board over the final 15 minutes, getting things started right as the quarter began. 

Noack would take the first Cardinal shot at the 14:38 mark, and a caused turnover courtesy of Kara Bradley would get Wheeling started. Bradley would pick up the ground ball, and raced into the offensive zone. She would find Cirone for her second goal of the day and Wheeling made it a 19-6 game with 12:55 to go. Frostburg State got to the 20-point mark on the next possession, and a draw control win by Klara Domachowska would set Wheeling up for their final goal of the game. Noack would set the offensive strategy up, and she connected with Davies, who scored her first goal of the day to make it a 20-7. Frostburg State would tally one more goal with 3:33 to play, and a save by Desmond in the final minute would bring the game to its final score of 21-7. 

The Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, April 22nd, when they host Point Park with opening draw at 6 PM.