Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/27/16
A defensive struggle saw the Drexel women’s lacrosse team tighten the screws on the host UC Davis Aggies on Saturday afternoon as the Dragons allowed just one goal over the final 47:41 of the game to pull away to an 8-3 victory in California.
Drexel, which completed a perfect 2-0 trip to California with the victory, fell behind 2-0 before scoring eight of the game’s last nine goals.
The Dragons (7-2) were slow to get started offensively, but were ultimately buoyed by their defense. UC Davis (3-3) did get off to a quick start, pulling out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Taylor Cuenin and Shannon Cross. Cross’ goal, scored with 17:41 to play in the first half, would prove to be the final score the Aggies could manage in the first half.
Drexel lit up the scoreboard for the first time just over halfway through the opening period when Devin Nihill netted her 19th of the season, taking an assist from Nadia Pelham-Lacey with 14:41 to play. That goal broke the dam for the Dragons, who scored twice more in the next 2:51 to grab a 3-2 lead. Both of those goals came from senior Emily Duffey (Lenape, NJ), unassisted scores that were her 17th and 18th of the season.
Duffey’s goals sent the Dragons into halftime with a 3-2 lead, and Pelham-Lacey gave them some breathing room with her 16th goal of the year at the 22:56 mark. That goal, assisted by Duffey, would prove to be the game-winner.
Lehigh 10, American 6
The Lehigh women’s lacrosse team scored the game’s first two goals and wouldn’t look back, beating American 10-6 on Saturday for its seventh straight victory. Junior Taylor Tvedt was stellar in goal with 10 saves, seven coming in the first half, while classmate Allison LaBeau continued her strong play with three goals and two assists to reach 40 points on the season. With the win, the Mountain Hawks improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play.
Along with LaBeau’s five points, junior Lauren Beausoleil and freshman Courtney Henig each scored two goals. Sophomore Haley Wentzel (Boyertown) added one goal and one assist. Beausoleil also tallied three groundballs and a draw control while senior Kendall Garden had three groundballs.
UConn 13, Villanova 8
Princeton 6, Harvard 5
Princeton never trailed in the game and took a two-goal edge on two occasions. Junior Olivia Hompe had a four-goal game and scored her 100th career goal on her second goal. Ironically No. 22-clad Hompe is the 22nd player in Princeton history to reach 100 career goals. Sophomore Colby Chanenchuk assisted on three of those four goals. On the other end of the field, DeGarmo made a career-high 14 saves. She had stopped 13 shots twice this season.
Colgate 13, Lafayette 11
One of the major bright spots on the afternoon was sophomore goalie Anna Raymond, who put in the best performance of her career, totaling a career-high 16 saves in the game.
Freshman Emma Novick led the Leopards offensively with four goals on the day, while Kirsten Wilhelmsen (Strath Haven) added three and two assists for five points.
Towson 7, Delaware 6, OT
The Blue Hens led, 6-5, with five minutes left in regulation before No. 20/17 Towson responded with two unanswered goals Saturday afternoon to defeat Delaware, 7-6, in overtime at Johnny Unitas® Stadium in the Colonial Athletic Association lid-lifter.
Junior Jamie Schwartz led the Hens (8-3, 0-1 CAA) with three points on two goals and an assist while sophomore Megan Santoleri (Archbishop Carroll) logged the first multi-goal game of her career with two tallies.
Senior Devyn Heidelbaugh (Boyertown) and junior Mary Abram (Ursuline) each collected two draws for Delaware. Additionally, senior Erin Wein picked up three groundballs.
Division III
Ursinus 12, Swarthmnore 11, OT
The Bears pulled off a scintillating comeback in Saturday’s Centennial Conference opener against visiting Swarthmore, erasing a seven-goal deficit in the second half and walking off with a 12-11 triumph on a goal by freshman Courtney Cortese (Great Valley) in overtime.
It didn’t happen in the blink of an eye, but Ursinus (5-3, 1-0) somehow overcame a dismal first 40 minutes and change, systematically turning what appeared to be a runaway Garnet rout into an instant classic. By the time Cortese beat Swarthmore goalie Connie Bowen low on a free-position attempt 2:42 into the extra session, the Bears had secured their first overtime victory since 2009, stolen from the jaws of defeat.
The Bears have never lost a regular-season home game to Swarthmore, but that streak was in major jeopardy from the opening draw. Trailing 10-3 after Swarthmore’s Briana Narzikul (Episcopal Academy) scored on a free position attempt at the 23:58 mark, Ursinus looked to be dead in the water. But the Bears uncorked a run of six unanswered goals during a span of just under ten minutes, freshmen Bridget Sherry (Strath Haven) and Kaci McNeave finding the back of the net twice apiece. Sherry’s second of the day made it a 10-9 spread with 9:27 to play, but the Garnet (3-4, 0-1) restored a two-goal advantage just over a minute later.
It stayed that way until the final two minutes. Senior Devin Brakel’s free-position strike with 1:57 to go cut it to 11-10, but the Garnet controlled the ensuing draw and looked to run out the clock. After a series of fouls, McNeave dispossessed a Swarthmore attacker deep in the Ursinus zone and, after a re-start, Sherry hit a cutting Taylor DeBernardi (Springfield-Delco) for the tying tally with 37 ticks remaining.
Leave a Reply