__Hofstra, Drexel best Tribe as the College faces CAA competition for the first time this season__
p. The women’s lacrosse team dropped its first two CAA conference games this weekend to Hofstra University and Drexel University. The Tribe fell to Hofstra 11-4 Friday night, marking Hofstra’s third straight conference win. Senior Jamie Fitzgerald led the College with two goals, while senior Jaime Sellers and freshman Katie Rees each tallied a goal. Freshman goalkeeper Sara Beckstead recorded 11 saves on the night, marking her fourth straight game of double-digit stops.
p. The Pride initiated the scoring, holding a 2-0 lead just five minutes into the game. Fitzgerald put the Tribe on the board soon after, yet Hofstra held a 5-1 advantage with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Sellers cut the margin to three goals with 6:13 on the clock, but Hofstra put away three more before the end of the half. Beckstead recorded 9 of her 11 saves in the first half, and Hofstra held a commanding 8-2 lead over the Tribe at halftime.
p. Within the first three minutes of the second half, the Pride recorded back-to-back goals to jump on the College early and increase its lead to 10-2. Hofstra’s Becky Thorn scored the Pride’s final goal with 19:25 left in the game. The contest remained scoreless thereafter, until Fitzgerald and Rees both found the net in the final minute, making it an 11-4 game in Hofstra’s favor.
p. The College faced Drexel Sunday in a game featuring back-and-forth scoring, as the lead changed hands several times. Senior Jaime Sellers led the College with a career-high five goals, as Fitzgerald added two goals for the Tribe. Seniors Kristen Wong and Kara Parker also tallied one goal apiece, and Beckstead again reached double digit saves with 10 in the contest.
p. Drexel struck first with a goal in the opening minute of play, but the College responded with three straight goals by Sellers to take an early 3-1 lead. The Dragons mimicked the Tribe, going on a three-goal run of their own to pull ahead by one. Sellers’ fourth goal tied it up with 11:53 remaining in the first half. However, Drexel outscored the College 4-2 in the remaining minutes, taking an 8-6 advantage at halftime.
p. The second half began exactly like the first, with non-stop action from end to end. Drexel’s leading goal scorer, Kerry Kelly, got possession of the first draw and marched down the field to bury a shot in the net just 10 seconds into the half. Two minutes later, Wong notched her only goal to bring the College back within two. Fitzgerald scored her second goal with 24:45 left, trimming the deficit to one.
p. After a Tribe turnover, the Dragons beat the College in transition to take a 10-8 lead. Down two, the Tribe continued to pressure both offensively and defensively. Drexel goalkeeper Lauren LaBella, however, came up big for the Dragons, making back-to-back stops and keeping the game scoreless for seven minutes.
p. At the 16:21 mark, Drexel broke the scoring drought with a goal. Again utilizing the draw, the Dragons pushed the margin to four goals just a minute later. The Tribe took a timeout hoping to slow Drexel’s momentum, but it could not keep the Dragons at bay. Just 30 seconds later, Drexel banged in its fourth straight goal to take a 13-8 lead.
p. The game remained scoreless for another seven minutes until Parker’s unassisted score with 7:37 remaining. The Tribe was unable to come up with an answer to the Dragons’ scoring flurry, and Drexel sealed the victory with two more goals in the final minutes to seal its 15-9 victory over the College.
The College returns to action this Friday when it travels to the University of Delaware to take on the Blue Hens at 7 p.m.
