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WHEELING - Wheeling Park and Wheeling Central will meet for the second time this season in prep lacrosse today at Wheeling Island Stadium.

And if the 5:30 p.m. contest is as competitive as last month's game - a 12-11 Central victory - it should be a barnburner.

This the fourth season of lacrosse at both schools. During that time, the Patriots and Maroon Knights, along with Linsly, have become part of a sport that is continuing to grow across West Virginia and the region.

There are currently 13 boys and seven girls teams in the Mountain State, and all are members of the West Virginia Scholastic Lacrosse Association.

Park and Linsly field boys' squads, while Wheeling Park also has a girls' team.

Other boys' teams are Bridgeport, Buckhannon-Upshur, Capital, George Washington, Fairmont Senior, Herbert Hoover, Morgantown, St. Albans, University and Washington.

Buckhannon-Upshur, Fairmont Senior, George Washington and Morgantown also have girls' teams.

''It's really catching on statewide and in the college ranks,'' said Wheeling Park coach Joey Subasic, in his second season as head coach and third with the program.

The Patriots enter today's match at 1-3, with the lone victory coming in the season opener against Bridgeport (6-4).

''It's pretty neat because the guys that came out as freshmen are seniors now,'' said Subasic, a Park and Bethany College graduate and former Wheeling Recreation Department lacrosse player.

''It takes a lot for a freshman to come out and play a sport that's new to the area. For them to be seniors and see this all the way through ... that's very important to me.''

The Patriots have 11 upperclassmen, including five seniors who started as freshmen, along with a few juniors and sophomores sprinkled in. There are 24 players total.

Alex Sims leads Wheeling Park with seven goals and seven assists.

Subasic, who is assisted by Glen Heatherington and Jeremy Merkle, has been pleased with the progress the program has made the last three seasons and is looking forward to younger players becoming involved.

''We're looking to expand to the middle schools in an effort to get some feeder teams,'' he said.

Wheeling Central entered Friday night's tussle against Clarkston, Mich., 3-3. The Maroon Knights have scored 12 or more goals three times this season, with the top total coming during last Saturday's 20-14 victory against Morgantown.

Central senior Zack Stahl leads the WVSLA with 41 points, including 23 goals. His teammate, Mike Felton, has nine goals and 11 assists.

The Maroon Knights are coached by Kevin Maloney, a former Wheeling Jesuit University standout. Andrew Paulus, a 2007 Wheeling Central graduate and member of the school's first team, is Maloney's assistant.

Linsly, under the direction of Eric Fries, is 3-1.

Wheeling Park's girls' team, coached by Jill Robbins, stands at 1-3 thus far. The Patriots' Deryn Martin is third in the WVSLA in scoring with 13 points, including 11 goals.

Notes

Wheeling Central will participate in a celebrity server night from 5-8 p.m. on April 21 at Generations. ... Wheeling Central and Linsly will play the first night lacrosse game in Wheeling history at 7 p.m. on April 27.