Wheeling, W. Va. - During the 2025 season, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (10-8, 6-4) advanced to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Semifinal game before falling to Frostburg State on a stormy night. On Thursday, the Cardinals will have their chance at revenge when they once again make the trip to Frostburg, Maryland for the MEC Semifinal round, with opening draw at 6 PM. The Cardinals are currently riding a three-game win streak, and look to carry that momentum into their semifinal match-up.
Last time out, the Cardinals opened MEC Tournament play against #5 seeded Davis & Elkins in the MEC Play-in game. It was back and forth throughout the early portion of the game, with the teams trading the first eight points of the game. With the score sitting at 4-4 with 13:52 to go before the half, the Cardinals hit their first run of the day, scoring four straight goals to take an 8-4 lead heading into the opening minutes of the third quarter. The third quarter would see the Cardinals pull away, taking a 13-8 lead by the start of the fourth quarter. The Cardinal lead swelled to 14-8 with 12 minutes to go, but the Senators would not go down quietly, scoring the final three goals of the game, but Wheeling was able to hold on for the 14-11 win.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Sophia Cirone, who finished with five goals and one assist to tie for the team lead with six points on the day. Of those five goals, three of them came in the second half as the Cardinals built the lead that eventually sealed the win. Cirone is riding momentum into the semifinal game, having scored 10 goals and 10 assists over her last three games, totaling 10 points. It's been part of what has been a career-year for the senior, who has already set career highs with 38 goals, 27 assists, and 65 total points. She earned First Team All-MEC honors for the first time in her career, and is looking to continue her success against Frostburg State. She has scored four goals in the first two meetings between the two teams, and looks to continue to be a leading scorer during the postseason run.
The other big performance in the play-in game came from Trinity Rose, who finished with four goals and two assists to match Cirone's six points on the day. Rose has been the leading scorer for the Cardinals throughout the season, scoring 48 goals and totaling 66 points. She has scored two or more goals in each of her last five games, and also scored two goals in the last meeting against Frostburg State. On the defensive side, it was Giavonna Perkins leading the way with 11 saves on 21 shots faced throughout the night. Perkins would earn First Team All-MEC honors, while leading the ME. with 162 saves during the season. She is holding a .481 save percentage throughout the year, while holding a goals against average of 14.18. Perkins looks to continue to be a rock in net for the Cardinals as they continue through the season.
As they head into the MEC semifinal round, the Cardinals are looking for their first win against Frostburg State since the program's return from hiatus. They were swept in the regular season series in each of the last two seasons, including dropping the MEC Semifinal game to the Bobcats a season ago. In each of their first two meetings of this season, the Cardinals fell by identical scores of 21-7, lowering their margin of defeat from a season ago. In the first meeting of the year back on April 1st, Frostburg State would score seven unanswered goals to start the game, before the Cardinals battled late in a 21-7 loss. In the second meeting, it would be Wheeling getting on the board first befoe Frostburg State hit their run to pick up the win. The Cardinals are looking for a similar start to their second match-up as they try and advance to the MEC title game.
The Details
Opening Draw for Thursday's game is scheduled for 6 PM at Bobcat' Stadium. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats here.
