Over the past few weeks, the Drexel University women’s lacrosse team has played four games, resulting in three tough losses and one win. Looking ahead this week, the Dragons will begin their Colonial Athletic Association conference games moving forward to the championships.
The Dragons played the University of Albany Great Danes on March 19. During the first eight minutes of play, both teams were tied 2-2. Senior Devin Nihill scored her 15th goal of the season and graduate student Lisa Rogers recorded her tenth. By the end of the first half, the Dragons were trailing 4-8. Junior Alex Beilman recorded her fifth goal of the season while junior Nadia Pelham-Lacey had an unassisted shot on goal to record her 18th.
The Great Danes opened the second half with two more goals to lead 10-4. Drexel’s senior Lauren Gerrie found the net one minute later, but a turnover and two fouls by Drexel allowed the Great Danes to start on a 6-0 scoring run during the next ten minutes. Two goals from Devin Nihill were the last for the Dragons. The final score was 20-7.
On March 26, the Dragons played High Point University. Lauren Gerrie had a fantastic game, scoring five goals. Other key scorers were Lisa Rogers with two goals, as well as single goals from Nadia Pelham-Lacey, senior Caroline Thiele, and Alex Beilman. Senior goalkeeper Carlee Ries also had 13 saves for the Dragons.
In the opening three minutes of the first frame, High Point was up 2-0. During the next two minutes, Drexel tied the game. High Point went on a 3-0 scoring run to end the first frame leading 6-3.
The first goal of the second frame belonged to the Drexel’s Lisa Rogers. With 21:01 left to play, High Point was leading 10-5. By 4:36, the Dragons had mounted a huge comeback with four goals to bring them only trailing by one.
The Dragons kept fighting until the end when both teams were only able to score one more goal each. High Point claimed the victory with a final score of 11-10.
The Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions increased their record to 11-1 when they traveled to Vidas Field March 29 to play the Drexel Dragons.
The Nittany Lions took an early lead in the opening frame as they commanded the field during the first 13 minutes to go up 5-0. The Dragons were only able to score three times: freshman Caroline Cummings recorded her first goal of the season, Lauren Gerrie recorded her 13th, and Devin Nihill recorded her 18th.
With 8:51 left to play in the first frame, the Nittany Lions outscored the Dragons 4-0 to lead going into the second frame 12-3. They kept charging down the field fighting to keep the Dragons from closing the gap.
Freshman Courtney Dietzel, Gerrie, and Nihill were the final three scorers for the Dragons. The Nittany Lions won 15-6.
After three straight losses, the Dragons needed to keep their heads held high with their last regular season game April 2 against the University of California, Davis. This was a huge win for the Dragons as they sent UC Davis home with a loss.
Devin Nihill continued her strong play, as she scored four goals against UC Davis, bringing her total goals to 23 — making her the highest scorer for the Dragons this season. Carlee Ries had 11 saves for the Dragons as well.
In the first five minutes of the opening frame, UC Davis scored two goal to take an early lead 2-0, but these would be their only goals until the next frame.
The Dragons had an outstanding 7-0 scoring run to close the frame and carried the commanding lead into the next frame.
UC Davis wasn’t ready to give up yet. They were the first to score in the second frame, but it looked like the Dragons had done their job. They maintained their lead through the second frame by not allowing UC Davis to come within more than four points of their score.
The Dragons had five goals in the second frame to take the win. However, the fight and determination from UC Davis allowed them to score two goals on the Dragons in the last 29 seconds of play.
The women’s lacrosse team now looks ahead to the start of tournament play. Their first opponent is Hofstra University on Friday, April 7 at Vidas Field at 6 p.m. Hofstra is currently 6-3, having won their last four games in a row.