Wheeling, W. Va. - As the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women's Lacrosse season comes down to its final game, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (8-8, 5-4) is in a battle for seeding ahead of the MEC Women's Lacrosse Tournament. On Wednesday, the Cardinals wrap up the regular season portion of their schedule when they welcome in Point Park with opening draw at 6 PM. Wheeling will honor their 2026 senior class in a special pregame ceremony, with Sophia Cirone, Paige Jankowski, Elena Grondin, and Jovie Noack being honored.
After earning a forfeit win on Saturday against West Virginia Wesleyan, the Cardinals are coming off a Wednesday afternoon match-up in Frostburg, Maryland. The Cardinals would jump out to an early lead, scoring at the 10:15 mark of the first quarter, but Frostburg State responded with eight straight goals to open the scoring. Wheeling was able to find the back of the net before halftime, responding with four of their own, but the teams went into the locker room with the Cardinals trailing 15-4. The Cardinals would once again be first on the board to start the second half, scoring in the first three and a half minutes, but once again the Bobcats were off and running. This time, it was a 4-0 run and, despite two four quarter Cardinal goals, it wasn't enough as Wheeling fell 21-7 to drop to 5-4 in conference play.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was graduate student Sophia Cirone, who continues to build on a career year on the field. The graduate student tied for the team lead with two goals, one assist, and three points, while being the Cardinal's most consistent shooter, putting all three shots she took on net. Along with the offensive success, the graduate student finished with two caused turnovers, two draw controls, and two ground balls to round out her day. It was just part of what has already been a big year for the Graduate Student, seeing her set career-highs with 30 goals, 17 assists, and 47 points. She is tied for second on the team in goals, while sitting third with both 17 assists and 47 points entering the final regular season game. She has scored multiple goals in five of her last six games, including a career-best eight goals against Davis & Elkins, as she looks to provide a stable presence on the offensive end.
Finishing right there with her was junior Trinity Rose, who equaled Cirone's mark of two goals and one assist on the day. She would take the most shots for the Cardinals, putting four of her six shots on net, while adding four draw controls and two ground balls in the effort. Rose once again leads the Cardinals in several categories, including goals (39), points (53), caused turnovers (28), and ground balls (39). She will be a leader for the Cardinals throughout the postseason, as they contend for a MEC title. One area the Cardinals have really stabilized this season is the draw control game, led by the efforts of Brooke Jeffery. The freshman leads the team with 52 draw controls this season, sitting 21 higher than the next closest Cardinal. She had two draw controls against Frostburg State and currently sits sixth in the conference in draw controls this season.
As they enter the final game of the regular season, the Cardinals have clinched their spot in the MEC Women's Lacrosse Championship, marking their second straight season on the conference play-off stage. They sit as the #3 team in the conference, and hold a one-game advantage over Davis & Elkins for the #3 spot. With Wheeling having swept the season series against Davis & Elkins, no matter what, the Cardinals will be locked into that spot, and will drop to the #4 seed once Dominican is factored into the standings. Along with the game being their final tune-up, the Cardinals will be honoring their four seniors for their time with the program. They have helped bring Women's Lacrosse back to Wheeling after a five-year hiatus, and brought it back to the conference championship stage in each of their two seasons.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the second time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 1-0. It will be Point Park's first trip to Bishop Schmitt Field in their inaugural season as they wrap up their first year in the MEC. The Pioneers have gone 2-7 in their inaugural season of conference play, with their lone in-game conference win coming against West Virginia Wesleyan. They have also picked up wins against Ursuline, Lake Erie, Mount Aloysius, and Bethany College.
The Cardinals and Pioneers first met back on March 21st, with Wheeling earning an 18-8 win to start their conference schedule. Leading the effort for the Cardinals was Trinity Rose, who finished with six goals and three assists, totaling nine points, while adding 11 ground balls, three caused turnovers, and four draw controls. Klara Domachowska added three goals and three assists to total six points, while Giavonna Perkins would make six saves on 10 shots faced on the night.
The Details
Opening draw control for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 6 PM inside Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
