On Feb. 25, the Drexel University women’s lacrosse team played a fantastic game in Washington against the American University Eagles. The Dragons took more shots, had fewer turnovers and gained more draw controls than the Eagles to help their offense stay aggressive. The final score was 14-3.
Within the first nine minutes of the opening frame, the Dragons were up 3-0. The first shot came from graduate transfer Lisa Rogers, the second from junior Nadia Pelham-Lacey and the third from sophomore Maggie Stetson with an assist from freshman Jamie Schneidereith. The depth of this team only adds to their strength and success.
With 16:38 left to play in the first frame, the Eagles were given a free position shot attempt, and junior Jennifer DeSimone scored for the only American goal of the half. By the end of the frame, the Dragons scored four more goals. Stetson’s second of the game came with an assist from Schneidereith, Pelham-Lacey scored again and senior Caroline Thiele came out strong to score the last two goals of the frame. The Dragons went into the second frame leading 7-1.
In the second period, the Dragons increased their lead to 10-1 with three goals in the first five minutes from Rogers, Pelham-Lacey, and senior Devin Nihill. The Eagles responded with a goal from DeSimone, but the Dragons quickly turned it around again to bring the score to 12-2. By the end of the frame, the Dragons scored two more goals to finish with a commanding win.
On March 1 the Dragons won again against the Monmouth University Hawks in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The final score was 11-9 and the Dragons are now 3-1, having won the last three games, two of which were on the road.
The first frame was an even matchup for both teams. The Hawks won the draw control and were the first to score after a wide shot from Rogers and an attempt by Thiele that was saved by the Hawk’s goalkeeper sophomore Riley Brager. The Dragons scored twice to lead 2-1 with 16:40 left to play with two goals from Nihill both assisted by Pelham-Lacey. The teams went back and forth each scoring goals and responding to the other team’s plays. By the end of the first frame, they were tied 4-4.
The second frame was a battle from start to finish where each team had no more than a one point lead on the other team until the last goal. Pelham-Lacey scored about 4:20 into the frame, but the Hawks quickly tied it back up 5-5. The Hawks scored, and then Nihill responded for the Dragons with another assist from Pelham-Lacey to tie again 6-6 with 21:00 still left to play. Nihill and Pelham-Lacey seemed to really connect with each other to help the Dragons keep pace in the contest.
Rogers had an unassisted goal three minutes later to tie the score again 7-7. The Hawks would score their last goal of the game with 5:30 left to play, trailing the Dragons 10-9. The last goal for the Dragons to win the game was from Stetson with 2:03 to play. The final score was 11-9.
The Dragons play again Saturday, March 4 against the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights at Vidas Field at 1 p.m. After this, they will have a full week to prepare to host the Villanova University Wildcats March 11.