Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2025 season has seen the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (9-8, 6-4) improve on last year's success in year two since their return, finishing with a one-game overall improvement and a two-win improvement in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. On Sunday, their MEC Tournament run begins when they host #5 seeded Davis & Elkins in the MEC Play-in round, with opening draw at 7 PM. The Cardinals are looking to get back to the MEC's semifinal round for the second year in a row as they bring tournament lacrosse back to Bishop Schmitt Field.
They wrapped up the regular season with a primetime senior day battle against Point Park as they honored their class of 2026 seniors. Those seniors would play a pivotal role in the win, and the Cardinals would use a fast start to take control early. They scored six unanswered goals in the first quarter, and held Point Park off the board for the first 25 minutes of the game. Their run reached 9-0 before Point Park got on the board, but that was the only goal they would allow in the first half, leading 11-1 at the break. With the mercy rule in effect, the Cardinals would start putting their reserves in, and Point Park would get as close as 15-5 with 9:47 to play. However, back-to-back Cardinal goals would ensure that the clock kept running and the Cardinals would go on to win by the final score of 17-6, clinching the #4 seed in the tournament field.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Sophia Cirone in the senior day match-up, where she made history. She would finish the day with three goals and eight assists, tying the single-game assist record while putting up 11 points in the effort. Four of those assists would come on the Cardinal's 9-0 opening run, and she added three more in the second half to help seal the deal. With the effort, Cirone moved into the team lead with 26 assists this season, and moved up to fifth in the conference. The senior has set career highs in all three offensive categories, finishing with 33 goals and 59 points, and took home First Team All-MEC honors for her effort this season. She has been one of a three-headed monster for the Cardinals on offense, and they look to continue their success into postseason play.
Working to keep the Pioneers off the board through the first 25 minutes was Giavonna Perkins, who put together her best effort of the season. The First Team All-MEC goalie would make 13 saves on 18 shots faced, finishing with a .722 save percentage on the day. Of her 13 saves in the effort, eight would come during that scoreless first quarter, as she helped the Cardinals build an early lead. She leads the conference with 151 saves this season, while sitting fourth in save percentage (.478) and she will play a key role for the Cardinals to make a run this season. The leading scorer for the Cardinals against Point Park was Trinity Rose, who finished with five goals and two assists, while finishing with seven points on the day. She is on a roll heading into the postseason, having scored 10 goals and three assists over her last four games and looks to continue leading the charge into the postseason.
The Cardinals secured the #4 seed in the conference for the second straight season, and will once again host the MEC play-in round. It comes after the Cardinals made history this past week, finishing with a program record six All-MEC honorees on Friday, including three First Team All-MEC awards. Wheeling would finish third in the regular season standings but, due to Dominican (CA.) automatically getting the three seed, the Cardinals dropped down to the #4 spot. Last season, Wheeling would defeat Davis & Elkins in the play-in game 11-8 to advance to the semifinals and face #1 seeded Frostburg State. In the 2026 tournament, the path will be the same for the Cardinals, with the team hosting Davis & Elkins and the winner going on to face Frostburg State in the semifinals. The Cardinals are looking for revenge against the Bobcats, and a win on Sunday would give them the rematch they are looking for.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Senators are meeting for the seventh time in program history, with Wheeling winning each of the six previous meetings. Of those first six meetings, only one has come in postseason play, with the Cardinals winning that match-up just a year ago. Wheeling has swept the season series each of the last two years with the Senators and are looking to sweep the season series for the second year in a row.
The last meeting between the two teams came back on April 9th, with the Cardinals picking up the 18-13 win. It was a big day for Sophia Cirone, who finished with eight goals and one assist, while putting eight of her nine shots on net. Trinity Rose finished hot on her heels with six goals and one assist, while Giavonna Perkins made 20 saves on 33 shots faced to lead the defense.
The Details
Opening draw for Sunday's play-in game is scheduled for 7 PM inside Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
