Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/6/26
From Press Release
A free-position goal by Bea Buckley (Penn Charter) with one second left on the shot clock lifted host Drexel past UConn, 12-11, in double overtime Friday. It marked the second consecutive season the Dragons and Huskies needed two extra periods to decide the contest, with UConn claiming last year’s matchup. Freshman Annie Madden and captain Kate Quinn (6DC) paced Drexel in scoring with four goals each.
UConn opened the scoring in the first quarter when Megan O’Brien found Hadley Bethke cutting down the lane for the game’s first goal. The Dragons responded with a pair of scores of their own. Quinn buried a shot to even the game at 1-1, before Caroline Senich capitalized on an assist from her sister, Katherine, to give Drexel the lead heading into the second quarter.
Bethke netted her second of five goals to tie the game at two just 45 seconds into the quarter. Annie Madden answered in a big way, scoring the first three goals of her career in a span of under two and a half minutes to give Drexel a 5-2 lead. The teams traded goals down the stretch before UConn closed the half with a pair, sending the Dragons into the break holding a slim 6-5 advantage.
Drexel opened the final 30 minutes with three straight goals in the first three minutes of play. Caroline Senich converted on a free-position opportunity, before Buckley found Mary Claire Heubeck. Madden added another score on a free-position chance to cap the second half surge.
Quinn scored with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter, but the Dragons would go nearly 20 minutes without another goal. UConn answered with four straight scores, as Ava Plata and Bethke each tallied twice to tie the game at 10-10.
With two minutes remaining, Katherine Senich fed Kate Quinn atop the 8-meter mark, with Quinn racing around the right side to bury the go-ahead goal. Heubeck won the ensuing draw control, but Kelsey Neary forced a key turnover. Kelsey Neary then went coast-to-coast and scored the equalizer, sending the contest into overtime.
Alexia Louca (Harriton) had three caused turnovers to lead the Dragons’ defense.
