In their first two games of the 2024 season, Drexel University’s Women’s Lacrosse team notched two dominant victories over Binghamton University and Wagner University.
In the season opener, which took place in Vestal, NY against Binghamton University, the Dragons had to overcome both inclement weather and a formidable opponent in the Bearcats. Last season, the Bearcats were 11-6 and made it to the America East Conference Finals where they lost the championship by just one goal. Luckily, the Dragons are led by a core of elite talent, most notably, the reigning CAA Attacker of the Year, Corinne Bednarik, and reigning CAA Goalie and Rookie of the Year, Jenika Cuocco.
In this opening match, which featured an hour-long delay for inclement weather, Drexel’s stars were on full display. In particular, Bednarik put on a show stopping performance, breaking Drexel’s single game points record. In this game, the fifth year senior scored six goals and tallied five assists. Especially considering the Dragons won by a score of 14-6, this statline jumps out as astounding. Bednarik not only scored the same amount of goals as the entire Bearcats team, but she directly contributed to 11 of Drexel’s 14 goals. Additionally, Cuocco collected 12 saves, standing tall against the nearly 30 Binghamton shot attempts throughout the game.
After their statement win against Binghamton, Drexel came home for their home opener as they played host to Wagner College. Like Binghamton, Wagner is a team that is coming off a heartbreaking end to a successful season, as they fell in the NEC Conference Tournament Championship 6-7 at the hands of Sacred Heart. If the Seahawks were hoping to start their season on a path of vengeance, however, they were wrong. Within the first quarter of play, Drexel jumped out to a six-to-nothing lead, featuring three goals from Bednarik.
As the game progressed, Drexel continued filling up Wagner’s goal. When the final whistle blew, the Dragons had completely dismantled Wagner by a score of 15-3. Bednarik finished the game with four goals and four assists, while fellow senior and Attack, Allison Drake, contributed three goals. The other seven goals came from six different players, the definition of a well rounded effort. Fifth year senior Alli VanSlyke, a Defender, scored her first career goal on an impressive sequence where she picked off a pass directly from Wagner’s goalie, Bryn Brockstie, and took the ball herself and finished the play in a goal.
Cuocco contributed another strong showing in net, as she saw 12 shots on goal and stopped three of them, posting a .750 save percentage.
The Dragons will look to continue their strong start to the season as they take on 17th ranked University of Pennsylvania on Feb. 17. This will be a test of this Drexel squad’s ambitions this season, as Penn will be one of the best opponents that they take on this season, outside of conference opponent and 11th ranked Stony Brook University, who they will not face until April 14.