Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/3/21
From Press Release
The 18th-ranked Drexel women’s lacrosse team raced out to a big first half lead and cruised to a 19-8 victory at Hofstra in its Colonial Athletic Association opener on Saturday afternoon. The Dragons scored nine of the first 10 goals on their way to their third straight win. Drexel is now 8-1 overall.
OVERVIEW
- Drexel came ready to play right from the opening draw control. Karson Harris got the Dragons on the board just 89 seconds into the contest. Three minutes later, teammate Jamie Schneidereith scored and the Dragons led by two. They would never trail in the game.
- Hofstra would trim the lead to 2-1, but Drexel answered with seven straight goals in a span of 4:24 to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Lucy Schneidereith, Corinne Bednarik (Downingtown West) and Courtney Dietzel (Central Bucks South) each scored twice during the stretch.
- Drexel would add five more goals before intermission to take a 14-3 lead at the break. Harris had all four of her goals in the first half.
- The Pride opened the second half by scoring three of the first four goals to cut the lead to 16-7. The Dragons responded with a Cara Moreau score, and then after a Pride goal, Dietzel and Colleen Grady answered to extend Drexel’s lead to 11.
- UAlbany cut the lead to three with 10:54 to play, but Harris scored a pair sandwiched around a Moreau goal to keep the Dragons undefeated at Vidas Field at 3-0.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Bednarik led the team with six points on the afternoon. The six points tied a career-high she set earlier in the season against Temple.
- Harris finished the day with five points. It was the sixth time this season she had at least five points in a game. She also moved into seventh place on Drexel’s career goals list.
- Lucy Schneidereith, Dietzel and Cara Moreau each had hat tricks in the game as five players found the back of the net at least three times.
- Hayleigh Simpson had four ground balls and four draw controls in the victory.
St. Joseph’s 12, Duquesne 10
Senior attacker Stephanie Kelly set a new program record for career assists as the Hawks held on for a over Duquesne at Sweeney Field.
Kelly fed Lauren Figura (Lenape) for the Hawks’ first goal of the day to notch the 85th assist of her collegiate career. That breaks the previous mark held by fellow Aussie, former teammate, and current assistant coach Rebecca Lane ’19, who tallied 84 between 2016 and 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Duquesne (2-2 overall, 0-2 Atlantic 10) had the better of play early, scoring four of the game’s first five goals. Kelly’s record-breaking assist set up Figura for the Hawks’ only goal until Sam McGee (Abington) scored with 10:29 to go to make it a 4-2 game.
• The Dukes would end up taking a 6-3 lead into halftime after a goal by Emma O’Neill was sandwiched between a pair of Duquesne tallies.
• Saint Joseph’s (6-4 overall, 3-0 Atlantic 10) came out of the break with a purpose, ripping off seven consecutive goals to take the lead. Kelly opened the scoring and then set up Riley Evans to bring the Hawks back within a goal; Kelly then netted her second of the day and Figura scored 26 seconds later to give the Hawks their first lead of the day.
• Bridget Cerciello (Southern Lehigh) followed with a natural hat trick, scoring three times in a span of less than four minutes, to extend the advantage to 10-6 with 17:19 to play.
• Rilee Bradshaw ended the run with a goal for the visitors, but McGee netted two more, both on assists from Alyssa Manley, to make it a 12-7 game with 10:20 on the clock.
• The Dukes clawed back into it, scoring three times in a span of a minute and 40 seconds, but the Hawk defense held firm over the final 7:20, including a pair of saves from Amber Weedon, to keep Duquesne at bay and hang on for the win.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Kelly pushed the record up to 86 assists and counting through 55 career games in the Crimson and Gray.
• Kelly led the Hawks with four points, while Cerciello and McGee’s hat tricks gave them three apiece. Bradshaw and Maddie Hart each scored four times for Duquesne to lead all scorers.
• Hart scooped up five ground balls, corralled 10 draws, and caused three turnovers for the Dukes. Julia Pash notched six draw controls for SJU, while Taylor Newman-Farr caused three turnovers; the pair each grabbed three ground balls as well.
• Weedon made 10 saves and picked up three ground balls of her own in the win; Rachel O’Toole and Mady Piersielak combined for eight saves in defeat.
• The Hawks enjoyed a 25-24 advantage in shots, while Duquesne held the edge on the draw, 13-11.