Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/28/24
From Press Release
Drexel grad student Corinne Bednarik (Downingtown West) tallied five goals and added two assists, two draw controls, one groundball and one caused turnover to help the Dragons vanquish No. 25 Penn State, 10-8, today at Vidas Field. This is Drexel’s second straight victory over the Nittany Lions at home, including their first victory over a top-25 team for DU since defeating No. 19 John Hopkins last season. With the win, Drexel improves to 3-2 on the year while Penn State drops to 2-3.
BY THE NUMBERS
Jenika Cuocco held down the net with 11 saves.
Drexel finished 13-of-14 on clear attempts.
Anna Maria Gragnani scores twice.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After both teams fought for control early in the game, Kelly MacKinney broke through to get the Nittany Lions on the board first. The Dragons bounced back thanks to Bednarik’s first goal of the night, tying things up at one. PSU was able to capitalize off Drexel penalties late in the quarter, scoring two goals in the final 1:11 minutes left to take a 3-1 lead.
DU came roaring back in the second quarter, with Molly Weygand getting things started off, with the assist from Bednarik. Bednarik quickly followed up to score again and cut the lead down to one. Kate Marano was next to join the party for the Dragons, knocking down the defender and smashing the back of the net. Drexel scored three straight and took their first lead of the night 4-3. After Penn State bounced back to tie the game up at four apiece, Allison Drake scored her fourth goal on the year to take the lead back 5-4. The Nittany Lions quickly responded with just 0:18 remaining in the quarter to take both teams to the break knotted up at five.
Drexel responded in the beginning of the third quarter, taking advantage of Penn State’s player-down with a goal from Gragnani. Meghan Murray led the way for the Lions with three goals, including one at the 8:30 mark to tie things up again at six. DU came back to two with goals from Bednarik and Gragnani. The Dragons decided with roughly 0:50 seconds left in the quarter to hold for one shot. With 0:20 left on the game clock, Bednarik made a spectacular play, shooting in between the Nittany Lion defender’s legs to hit the back of the net to go up 9-6.
Penn State made the call to pull starting goalie Syndey Manning for Ashley Bowan to begin the fourth. Bowan made the most of her opportunity, allowing just one goal with two saves. This helped the PSU make a comeback in the quarter, first from Brooke Hoss to cut the lead down 9-7. Murray was then able to squeak by the Drexel defense to hit the bottom quarter of the net to bring the Nittany Lions to within one.
With just 1:18 left, Bednarik took over. Bednarik circled around multiple defenders and smoked the net on a shovel shot, to clinch the game, 10-8.
Meghan Murray had three goals for Penn State.
Penn 11, Temple 6
The No. 13 Quakers used a strong second half—bolstered by a quick start in the fourth quarter—to beat Temple in a renewal of a city rivalry that had been dormant since 2010.
Playing its first road game of 2024, Penn remains unbeaten on the young season at 3-0, while the Owls dropped their second straight against an Ivy League opponent and moved to 4-2.
Quaker Notes
*For the third time in as many games this season, Penn scored 11 goals.
*Penn extended its win streak over Temple to seven games, although this was the first meeting between the Quakers and the Owls since 2010.
*Junior Keeley Block scored three goals to lead the Quakers offensively, her first hat trick since she had four goals at Dartmouth back on April 23, 2022. (Block missed last season due to injury.)
*Senior Niki Miles had another standout performance, totaling a team-high four points (2g/2a) and a game-high six draw controls.
*Freshman Catherine Berkery also scored twice on two shots, her second straight multi-goal game of the season. She also had three ground balls.
*Junior Anna Brandt scored once and came up with four draw controls on Wednesday.
Belle Mastropietro (Springfield-Delco) had two goals and an assist for the Owls.
