LATROBE, Pa. – The 2026 season opened with intensity and offensive firepower Saturday afternoon as West Virginia Wesleyan College dropped a hard-fought 12-8 decision to St. Vincent at UPMC Field.
 
St. Vincent struck quickly, scoring just 50 seconds into their first possession after a draw control. At the 14:10 mark, Chloe Herring finished off an assist from Melanie Seefeldt to open the scoring. Less than a minute later, St. Vincent doubled its lead.
 
Wesleyan answered. After drawing a free-position opportunity at 12:38, Nyah Elmer buried the free-position shot at 12:32, putting the Bobcats on the board. Later in the quarter, with 4:25 remaining, Elmer found the back of the net again—this time finishing a feed from Francesca Sloan—to cut the deficit to 6-2 heading into the second period.
 
Despite surrendering six first-quarter goals, Wesleyan competed well at the draw circle early, winning five draw controls in the opening frame and finishing with 13 on the afternoon.
 
St. Vincent extended its advantage early in the second quarter, building a 9-2 lead midway through the period.
 
The Bobcats responded behind Sloan's aggressive play in transition. At 4:55, Sloan converted a free-position opportunity to trim the deficit to 9-3. Wesleyan created additional chances late in the half, but St. Vincent's goalkeeper Cassidy Rega came up with several key saves, helping the Bearcats carry a 10-3 lead into halftime.
 
Capitalizing on a St. Vincent green card to open the third period, Sloan struck on a man-up opportunity at 14:46. She followed that just over four minutes later with a free-position goal at 10:43, cutting the deficit to 10-5
 
Wesleyan's defense tightened considerably in the third, holding St. Vincent to just one goal in the period while generating seven ground balls. Goalkeeper Ella Gomez recorded several timely saves, finishing with four stops in 45 minutes of action, while Emeri Boggs added two saves in relief.
 
Entering the fourth quarter, the Bobcats trailed 11-5. At 10:10, Sloan converted another free-position attempt to make it 11-6. Just over two minutes later, Elmer scored her third goal of the game at 7:33, cutting the margin to four.
 
The biggest spark came at 4:16 when Sloan finished her fifth goal of the afternoon, narrowing the gap to 11-8 and forcing St. Vincent to tighten defensively. However, a late man-up goal by Herring at 1:33 halted the comeback attempt, sealing the 12-8 final
 
Wesleyan next travels to Ferrum College on Saturday, Feb. 28 for a 1 p.m. start.