The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team lost two close conference matches this past weekend, falling to the University of Delaware Blue Hens (13-11) April 19, and losing to the Towson University Tigers (12-10) April 21. The losses put the Dragons at 6-9 for the season, with a 1-4 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play.
At home against the Blue Hens, the Dragons found themselves behind early. After Drexel senior Grace Osterdale opened the scoring for the day, the Blue Hens offense went off. Junior Sydney Rausa was the catalyst for Delaware, scoring five straight goals in the first half to give her team 5-1 lead. Rausa had six goals on the day, a career high.
But Drexel responded with a 5-0 run of their own, which featured goals from Osterdale, redshirt freshman Claire Jarema and a trio of goals from sophomore Karson Harris. Delaware tied the game up on a goal by senior Caroline Farley going into the break, then jumping out into a 9-6 lead thanks to a pair of goals from junior Mia DeRuggiero and one from junior Sarah Bedard.
Drexel clawed back again though, with Osterdale completing the hat trick, Harris scoring her fourth of the game and senior Maggie Stetson scoring a pair of goals to tie the game up at 11.
With a little over four minutes to play, Delaware junior Christine Long scored her 40th goal of the season to break the tie. Drexel drew a foul resulting in a free position shot, but turned the ball over resulting in a Blue Hens goal from Bedard, putting the victory out of reach.
The Dragons went on the road looking to get back in the win column against Towson, but struggled again in the first half. Sophomore Hannah Hobbes scored the first goal of the game for Towson on a free position shot. Harris tied things up at one, but the Tigers outscored the Dragons 5-2 for the rest of the first half. Junior Annie Sachs was the sparkplug for Towson, netting a hat trick.
In the second half, with the Dragons down 6-3, the comeback attempt was difficult. Towson seemed to always answer Drexel scores with goals of their own. Sophomore Colleen Grady and Harris kept the Dragons in the game. Each of them scored two goals in the half to bring Drexel within one of Towson.
With the score 9-8, Towson goals by senior Natalie Sulmonte and junior Coeli Love pushed the Tigers lead back up to three. Harris was able to score another goal for the Dragons, her fourth of the game, but the team was ultimately unable to complete the rally.
Drexel will play their final game of the regular season this weekend on Senior Day at Vidas Field. The Dragons will take on the Hofstra University Pride April 27 at 3 p.m.
It is going to be tough for the Dragons to qualify for the postseason, but the team still has a shot. In order to qualify for the four-team field of the CAA playoffs, Drexel needs to defeat Hofstra, and the Elon University Phoenix must lose to the College of William & Mary Tribe April 26.
Hofstra has already clinched a playoff berth with a win over Delaware last weekend. The Pride are currently 10-6 on the season with a 3-2 record in CAA play. The team’s marquee player is junior Alyssa Parrella, the leading scorer in the CAA.
Parrella has scored a ludicrous 78 goals so far this season in just 16 games. If Parrella scores four goals against Drexel, she will break the single-season record for most goals in a season by a CAA player. The record is currently held by Gail Decker, who scored 81 goals in the 2004 season for the James Madison University Dukes.