Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last two weeks, the Wheeling University Women's Lacrosse team (7-6, 4-2) has been battling on the road during a stretch that has seen them play four of their last six away from Bishop Schmitt Field. On Thursday, the stretch comes to an end as the team travels to Davis & Elkins with opening draw at 4 PM. The Cardinals have handled the stretch well so far, going 3-2 over the first five games, and are looking to even their road record on the season in Elkins, West Virginia.
After earning a forfeit win last time out at the hands of West Virginia State, the Cardinals are coming off a 21-7 loss to Frostburg State the last time they took the field. The Bobcat offense came out fast and furious, scoring five goals over the first 10 minutes of play to take a 5-0 advantage. The Wheeling scoring drought was broken at the 3:56 mark of the first quarter, but by the end of the quarter, Frostburg State had upped their advantage to 7-1. The Cardinals would get on the board twice more before the halftime break, and Wheeling went into the locker room trailing 13-4. Wheeling would keep their momentum going into the second half, scoring the first goal to make it a 13-5 game, but that was as close as they would get on the night. In the end, Frostburg State would walk away with a 21-7 win as the Cardinals dropped to 2-2 in conference play.
Leading the effort on the day for the Cardinals was sophomore Julia Daniels, finishing with two goals and one assist to total three points in the effort. She was one of the Cardinal's most efficient shooters on the day, putting each of the two shots she took on net in the effort, It was the fifth time this season that she has finished with multiple goals in a game, and she tied her season-high with three points in the win. It was the second straight game where Daniels has finished with three points in a game and, over her last three games, she has finished with three goals and four assists, totaling seven points. She is one of five Cardinals to have scored in double digits this season, sitting fifth on the team with 12, and looks to continue to play a big role on offense down the stretch.
Battling to keep the Cardinals in the game throughout the first half was goalkeeper Giavonna Perkins, who finished with 12 saves on 30 shots faced to finish with a .400 save percentage on the night. She would help limit the Bobcat's offensive opportunities early, making seven saves over the first 15 minutes, and added two more saves before the halftime break. She would end up playing 49 minutes before being pulled, and moved her season save percentage to .450. Rounding out the effort for the Cardinals was junior Trinity Rose, who took a leadership role on the defensive side of the ball. She led the Cardinals with four caused turnovers and four ground balls in the effort, while also being the team's leading shooter with five of her eight shots landing on net. Rose finished one caused turnover shy of her season-high, and finished with the most caused turnovers she has had in a game since February 25th against Shepherd, when she finished with five.
With two and a half weeks remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals find themselves perched in the #3 spot in the conference. They are just a half game back of Charleston for the #2 seed, which would afford them a first round bye in the upcoming Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The Cardinals have a chance to officially claim their spot in the MEC Tournament this weekend, with a win officially punching their ticket to tournament play. It would be the second straight season in which the Cardinals make the tournament, and they can officially turn their sights towards seeding over the final two weeks of the season. Wheeling is looking to at least make it back to the semifinal round and compete for their first MEC Championship since the 2017 season.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Senators are meeting for the sixth time in program history on Thursday, and the second time during the 2026 season. Wheeling leads the all-time series at 5-0, and has won each of the first two games they have played in Elkins, West Virginia. It has been a high-scoring series overall for the Cardinals, with the team averaging 14.4 points per game, while having scored in double digits in each of the previous five meetings between the two teams.
The first meeting of the season came back on March 26th, in a game that Wheeling would win 14-9 at Bishop Schmitt Field. Leading the effort for the Cardinals in the meeting was Trinity Rose, who finished with four goals and one assist, totaling five points, while causing three turnovers and picking up three ground balls. Finishing right behind her was Sophia Cirone, who added three goals and three assists, while Giavonna Perkins made 11 saves on 20 shots faced.
The Details
Opening draw for Thursday's game is scheduled for 6 PM inside Nuttall Field on the campus of Davis & Elkins University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
