Dragon’s defeat Monmouth, fall to PENN | The Triangle

Dragon’s defeat Monmouth, fall to PENN

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The Drexel University field hockey team has played two games since their tough loss against Pacific University Sept. 18.

The Dragons faced Monmouth University Sept. 23 and the University of Pennsylvania Sept. 27. Drexel played hard, fought games and split the two, keeping their record even at 5-5 for the year.

Freshman Tess Bernheimer played one of her best games of her young collegiate career against Monmouth. She recorded a total of three points, which was a career high. Her impressive game earned her Colonial Athletic Association rookie of the week.

The Dragons clicked on all cylinders against Monmouth. Just two minutes into the game, Alison McCardell scored the first goal of the day to put the Dragons on top 1-0.

Monmouth came roaring back a few minutes later to tie the game at one. The first half then proceeded to become a defensive battle. Neither team could break through each other’s defenses, both teams played clean field hockey stopping any advances. It was not until the clock hit all zeros when the Dragons were able to score a last second goal to put themselves up 2-1 before half time.

The Dragons clearly enhanced their offensive side at halftime because the second half saw much more scoring than the first. Freshman Idrienne Walker scored Drexel’s third goal of the day to put the Dragons up by two.

Monmouth responded about ten minutes later with a goal of their own, but this would be the last goal Drexel’s opponent scored in the game. Freshman Megan Wiest added a score, and Walker scored her second goal to make the end score 5-2.

The Dragons hoped to follow their performance against Monmouth up with another great game against Penn. Unfortunately, the rival proved to be a tougher task. Penn came into this game with a record of 5-2, and Drexel, after beating Monmouth, entered play with a 5-4 record.

This game was the definition of a defensive battle. Both teams struggled mightily to score, taking the entire first half for a goal to occur. Penn struck first with just 48 seconds left in the first half.

The second half started and again both teams struggled to find the back of the net. Penn scored its second goal of the game about eleven minutes into the second half. The Dragons followed suit with a goal of their own two minutes later.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, their offense never quite took off from that goal. They continued to struggle to gain momentum and score, so one goal was all they were able to get.

The game ended with a score of 2-1. The Dragons played a tough brand of field hockey, holding a very stronggood Penn team to just two scores, but they themselves could not seem to break the Penn defenses.

Regardless of the loss, the Dragons displayed toughness which is necessary to succeed in field hockey. As the team continues to grow they will certainly become more consistent with their offense, and their defense already seems to be playing well regularly.

The game against Monmouth proves this team can match their defense with great offense, it is just a matter of consistency. Drexel will face Northeastern University tonight, Sept. 30 at Buckley Field.