EDINBORO, Pa. – The Edinboro women's lacrosse program will debut a new era when the Fighting Scots take the field at Sox Harrison Stadium on Thursday, February 22. Jenny Wirth takes over reins of the program after the former Fighting Scot was named interim head coach a month ago. She replaced Caitlin Formato, who resigned after two seasons to accept an assistant coach's position at Canisius.

Edinboro opens the 2018 season hosting Wheeling Jesuit at 4 p.m. It marks the earliest opening game for the Fighting Scots, as they have never played a game in February. The Cardinals opened the season on Friday with a 20-8 loss to ninth-ranked Regis.

The Fighting Scots come off a 2-15 finish a year ago, and must replace their top four scorers plus goalkeeper Paige Skinner, who played every minute in goal in 2017. They were picked to finish 13^th in the PSAC Coaches' Preseason Poll.

Wirth, who played midfield for Edinboro from 2011 to '14, was an assistant coach at Shippensburg a year ago. She will look for a young roster that features 12 freshmen and five sophomores to mature quickly.

Stephanie Chido, a junior attacker, is the team's top returning scorer with 10 goals and an assist for 11 points. Sophomore midfielder Mary Uplinger added 7 goals and a pair of assists. The defense returns a pair of players who started all 17 matches last year, senior Hannah Fitzgerald and sophomore Kelly Mohan. Fitzgerald brings plenty of experience with 44 career starts, and is expected to move to the midfield.
 
Wheeling Jesuit comes off a 10-7 season in 2017, but won the Mountain East Conference regular season title for the second straight year with a 5-0 league record. They went on to their first MEC Tournament crown, defeating Shepherd, 14-8.

Head coach Tim Florence is in his seventh season and has been named the MEC Coach of the Year the last two years. The Cardinals feature a pair of returning first team All-MEC performers in senior attacker Kori Hickman and senior defender Lyndsay Carpenter. Hickman led the MEC in assists last year and finished as the second-leading scorer on Wheeling Jesuit with 22 goals and 37 assists for 59 points. Carpenter had 13 goals and four assists while leading a defense that allowed just 11.95 goals per game.

In the opener vs. Regis, Kate Calder and freshman Paige Orbell had two goals apiece, while Hickman finished with three assists.

Edinboro opened the 2017 season with a 13-11 loss at Wheeling Jesuit. The Fighting Scots have won four of the five meetings with the Cardinals.