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Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the last week and a half, the Wheeling University Women’s Lacrosse team (1-3, 0-0) has had the chance to play at Bishop Schmitt Field, splitting the first two games. They wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, when they welcome in Lake Erie College with opening draw at 12 PM. The Cardinals are looking to bring their non-conference schedule back to even before hitting the road to wrap up their six-game non-conference schedule to prepare for Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. 

Last time out, the Cardinals welcomed in Chesnut Hill College, and got off to the fast start that has been a staple of their season so far. Wheeling would score the first three goals of the game spanning the first seven minutes of play. They would add a fourth goal at the five minute mark, but Chestnut Hill would battle back to make it a 4-2 game by the end of the quarter. Their resurgence continued, it was a Cardinal goal with 49 seconds left in the half that sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 6-5 lead. The back and forth continued throughout the third quarter, but it was the final 15 minutes that saw the Cardinals break things open. They outscored the Griffins 6-1 over the final quarter, as they secured their first win of 2026 at 16-9. 

Leading the way for the Cardinals was senior Jovie Noack, who put together a season-best seven goals and one assist to finish with a team-high eight points on the day. It was the most in a single game for the senior since the first game of the season against Allegheny last year. It would go down as her first multi-goal game of the season as she finished putting eight of her 12 shots on net. She would set a season-high in goals (7), shots (12), and shots on goal (8) The effort would propel her to the team lead in goals with 10 this season, while sitting second on the team with 13 points through four games. She looks to continue to be a leader for the Cardinals down the stretch as they prepare for their conference schedule. 

Finishing right behind her was Klara Domachowska, who finished with a team-high four assists in the effort. She would assists Noack on her first two goals of the night, and added two goals of her own to finish with six points. After leading the Cardinals in assists a season ago, Domachowska once again finds herself atop the list with eight assists through four games, and leads the team with 14 points on the season. With Trinity Rose out on Tuesday, the Cardinals saw their freshman step up on defense with Ava Annuziata leading the way. The freshman finished with a team-best two caused turnovers, while adding six draw controls in the winning effort. Annuziata currently sits second on the team with 13 draw controls, and third with five caused turnovers as she looks to continue her success on the defensive end. 

After scoring single-digit goals in back-to-back games, the Cardinal offense broke out for a season-high scoring effort against Chestnut Hill. It was the second time this season that they have scored double figures in a game and brought their season scoring average to 9.25 goals per game through the first four games. They have been efficient with their shots throughout the season, putting 76.1% of their shots on net while holding a 40.2 shot percentage on the season. The Cardinals have been good in the first quarter of games, scoring 11 of their 37 goals in the first quarter of games. They look to build off their strong starts the rest of the way, and try to sustain them through the rest of the season. 

The Match-up 

The Cardinals and Storm are meeting for the eighth time in program history, with Lake Erie leading the all-time series at 6-1. The lone Cardinal win in the series has come on their home field, with the teams meeting for the first time since the 2019 season. The Cardinals average 8.29 goals per game in the series and have hit double figures in four of the previous seven meeting between the two teams. 

The last meeting came on March 17th, 2019, in a game that the Cardinals would win 11-9 at Bishop Schmitt Field. Wheeling was led by former Cardinal Megan Mangia, who finished with three goals and one assist, while adding a ground ball and a Caused Turnover in the effort. Former Cardinal Mackenzie Kaderabek would add two goals and five draw controls, while former Cardinal Hayley Holmquist would add three goals and a caused turnover in the effort. 

The Details 

Opening draw for Saturday’s game is scheduled for noon inside Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.