There was one thing that my family and friends told me to do before I entered my first year at Drexel. “Get involved,” they constantly told me. I resisted at first; I was never one to load up on extracurricular activities, but I realized that college was as good a time as any to feel connected with my school. Needless to say, I’m extremely happy that I got involved. My three years with The Triangle have produced mentors and friends whom I wouldn’t give up for anything.

My career with The Triangle sports section began under Alex Falk as editor. He mentored me from the start, always giving me feedback to improve my writing. Julia Fisher was the assistant sports editor, and her work ethic inspired me to hone my craft and really get involved in the sports section. I remember the first time I went to a Thursday night production. This was the first time I met other section editors, and I immediately realized how close everyone was. It was an exciting experience, as Thursday nights are always filled with fast-paced, last-minute production tasks. I wanted to be part of the camaraderie, so I continued to become involved in the sports section. When Alex graduated last year, Julia and I became co-editors. We had shared responsibility of the sports section, but she was more experienced than I was. She taught me how to run a section of a newspaper, and when she left The Triangle earlier than expected, I was left on my own.

I wasn’t really on my own, though. My first issue as the sole sports editor was more of a collaboration than my first issue alone. Everyone helped me with the problems I had, resulting in a sports section that had everyone’s fingerprints on it. As I learned and became more comfortable, I settled in as sports editor.

During my time as editor, I’ve had some amazing experiences. I got to cover our field hockey team when they won the Colonial Athletic Association championship. I got to be around for the men’s soccer team’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 40 years and for the women’s basketball team winning the WNIT. Covering student-athletes, especially when their hard work pays off, is a joy of mine. I’ll never forget about the complete elation that I experienced when I watched the field hockey team win the CAA Tournament. As a journalist I love the story, but as a person I love seeing emotions that are reserved for a championship.

Now that my time has come to an end, as I hand the reins over to the talented Bryan Fyalkowski, I just hope that he and all the sports editors that follow will be able to have the same experiences I have had. I hope they all create long friendships and appreciate how lucky we are to be a part of The Triangle, an independent newspaper. Independence from Drexel is important for unbiased news reporting, of course, and not many student newspapers are lucky enough to have that.

Ultimately, I’d like to thank everyone — coaches, athletic communications personnel, everyone at the newspaper — who helped me along the way. My time has been amazing, and I hope I left as much of a mark on The Triangle as it left on me.

The post Editor thanks Triangle staffers appeared first on The Triangle.

[media-credit name=”Aric Crabb Oakland Tribune/MCT Campus” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] Los Angeles Kings’ Dustin Brown celebrates his goal during the second period in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals San Jose, Calif., May 26.

Of all of the storylines that have emerged in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most intriguing one has to be that the final four teams left in the playoffs are the last four teams that have won it all. The Los Angeles Kings, the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins have won the previous four Stanley Cups. Fans of the other 26 teams around the league may not be excited about seeing another perennial powerhouse win a championship again, but it does say something about the state of the game this year.

In a shortened season, it seems that all the teams that were “supposed to win” are actually winning. The Blackhawks, of course, made history this year with a winning streak that stretched 24 games, the third-longest streak in NHL history. After the streak ended, the Blackhawks were still an absolute powerhouse. They never lost more than two games in a row all season, and they finished the season winning the President’s Trophy with the league’s highest point total.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Blackhawks had a quick series against the Minnesota Wild. The 4-1 series win wasn’t as lopsided as the numbers indicated. Chicago was sluggish in the series but was the more talented team. The Wild’s Ryan Suter played an average of 31:37 over the five games against Chicago, which is still the highest ice-time average in the playoffs. Minnesota’s lack of depth on defense made it hard for them to shut down the Blackhawks’ potent top six scorers.

Chicago faced the surprising Detroit Red Wings in the second round. A number of experts picked the Red Wings to miss the playoffs at the beginning of the year. It made sense at the time; Detroit lost Nicklas Lidstrom, the best defenseman in franchise history, to retirement, leaving a hole in the team’s defensive core. But Red Wings coach Mike Babcock showed how great he is, and he led the team to the second round of the playoffs with one of the most limited rosters he’s had since he arrived in Detroit.

The Blackhawks won the first game of the series, but the Red Wings went on to win the next three games to hand Chicago its first three-game losing streak of the season. The Blackhawks buckled down and won the next three straight games to take the series in seven games. It wasn’t Patrick Kane or Jonathan Towes who led the Blackhawks to the conference finals. It was Patrick Sharp, who scored five points in seven games, and Corey Crawford who led Chicago.

For the Kings, not much changed as far as roster moves for last year’s champions. But the Kings still only finished fifth in the Western Conference. Like last year, the Kings turned it on in the playoffs. Each series there was a different hero for Los Angeles. In the first round against the St. Louis Blues, it was Jeff Carter who scored three goals in six games. In the second round against the California rival San Jose Sharks, it was Jonathan Quick who stole the show with 1.43 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage in the series to really steal the show.

Now it’s Kings against Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals, and it looks like the Kings have an advantage in this one. Starting with the goaltenders, Quick is a better goalie than Crawford at this point in his career. The Blackhawks have a high-powered offense, but Kane has been held to only one goal in the playoffs, and Towes has had moments when he lost his head against the Red Wings. The Kings’ Dustin Brown will no doubt be looking to expose Towes’ short fuse and get under his skin. The key to this series for the Kings is to keep the Blackhawks’ potent offense off the board. Chicago has a much deeper defense, but the game changer is the greatness of Quick in these playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference, the Penguins took a similar path as the Blackhawks. From the beginning of the year, they were heralded as the team that will come out of the East. Pittsburgh finished the regular season atop the Eastern Conference Standings and drew the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. The Islanders laid an egg in the first game of that series, losing 5-0. After that, the Islanders regrouped and put together a win that would ultimately lead to the benching of Marc-Andre Fleury. Even with Tomas Vokoun between the pipes, the Islanders forced the series to six games. The series was extremely entertaining not only because the Islanders were showing some incredible heart but also because of the atmosphere at Islanders home games. The volume that could be produced by the fans on Long Island is something that most hockey fans forgot about, mostly because the Islanders had not been in the playoffs since 2006.

The Penguins then went on to face the Ottawa Senators in the second round. Ottawa only managed to win one game in the series, as the Penguins offense started to put up big numbers. The Penguins scored seven goals in Game 4 and six goals in Game 5, James Neal scored five goals in five games, and Kris Letang amassed nine assists in five games. Thus far, three of the top five goal scorers in the playoffs are Penguins.

The Bruins finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and faced the division rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes, the same Maple Leafs that haven’t been in the playoffs since 2003. Boston looked to be too much for the Leafs when they went up 3-1 in the series, but Toronto battled back to force Game 7. In Game 7, the Leafs were up 4-1 in the third period, in Boston, and it looked like that game was all but over. But the Bruins scored three goals in the third period and finally won the game in overtime, completing one of the biggest comebacks in Game 7 history.

In the second round, the Bruins faced a New York Rangers team that just came off another emotional Game 7. The Bruins pushed around the Rangers for most of the series, winning the first three games handedly. The Rangers won Game 4 in New York to stave off elimination, but they couldn’t come back from 3-0 down. The Rangers beat themselves in most aspects, mostly with their inept power play.

For the Eastern Conference Finals, we have a battle of black and yellow. The Bruins have the advantage in team defense and their rookies on defense, especially Torey Krug, who has been putting up huge goals for Boston. Krug had four goals in five games against the Rangers. Boston’s Tuukka Rask has an advantage over the Penguins’ Vokoun, who has been good but is still a backup goalie in this league. The Bruins will have to neutralize the Penguins offense to win this series. They can’t allow the Penguins to get goals from all six of their top six forwards. And of course, Sidney Crosby will be banged up from breaking his jaw earlier in the season, but he will be on the ice just like he was in the past two series. Don’t think for a second that his jaw won’t be a target for guys like Brad Marchand, who is known for throwing a few punches after the whistle.

One thing’s for sure: looking at the rosters on each of these four teams, they have been here before. They’ve all won the Cup in the past four years, and each team’s core from the time they won the cup is still there. Both of these series have the potential to go deep, and no one will be surprised if any of these four teams win the cup. The Kings, though, are hard to bet against — a team that is the same as last year and a goalie who looks like he is just as good as he was last year. Back-to-back Stanley Cups and back-to-back Conn Smyth Trophies for Quick? It could happen, and that’s not too bad for a 27-year-old.

The post NHL superpowers converge on conference finals appeared first on The Triangle.

Head field hockey coach Denise Zelenak has been busy this offseason since the Drexel University field hockey team won the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Zelenak coached the United States Senior Women’s National Indoor team to a RohrMax Cup win Jan 6.

The tournament was played in Vienna and featured national indoor teams from Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. Team USA defeated Slavia Prag from the Czech Republic to win the international tournament. Zelenak also coached Team USA in Argentina where they defeated the Argentine team for the first time in program history. She will also coach the national indoor women’s team in the International Hockey Federation World Cup in 2015.

Even with a busy offseason, Zelenak still has her sights set on Drexel’s upcoming field hockey season.

“All opportunities to coach at the national and international level are learning experiences,” Zelenak said. “Each event and training gives me an opportunity to practice and evaluate my coaching skills, which eventually enhances the experience for my Drexel team.”

Looking ahead to the 2013 season, the Dragons will return every player except leading point getter and team captain Amanda Fleischut. Fleischut led Drexel to their first-ever conference championship and was named the Most Outstanding Performer in tournament play. Without Fleischut, the Dragons will look to their new upperclassmen for leadership.

“As the lone senior, Amanda was an amazing leader and a great captain, but even she will tell you there is never one person leading any team,” Zelenak said. “So as I look to the fall of 2013, all three seniors, Lindsay McArdle, Kristen Focht and Elise DiDonato, will be called on to step up and lead the squad. I look forward to seeing how well the team will mesh with these great players at the helm.”

McArdle led Drexel with 12 goals last season, but she is also known for her gritty play. During the championship game against Northeastern University, McArdle sacrificed her body multiple times to keep plays alive. That style of play makes her a prime choice for the new team captain.

Zelenak has also been busy on the recruitment front for this year’s team.

“Recruiting is actually moving faster and starting earlier, so we have been searching for the players for the fall of 2013 for a few years already, ,” Zelenak said. “We are always looking to the future and trying to identify great field hockey athletes who we feel will fit Drexel and our program. Any and all team accomplishments show these possible recruits where our program is and where it’s going.”

Even though she’s returning most of her players from last season, Zelenak still looks at this as a new team. Repeating a championship is undoubtedly difficult, but one has to think that the Dragons have a good chance with all of their returning players.

“It’s always a scary prospect when you try to predict the next season, especially when people expect you to repeat the last one,” Zelenak said. “As a coach, I know better than to try to do that to myself or my team. For the fall of 2013, we will have new leaders emerge and new players on the field, which equals a new team to us.”

The post Field hockey retains its core appeared first on The Triangle.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team wasn’t able to overcome top-seeded Towson University in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The Dragons fell to the Tigers 8-7 May 3 in Towson, Md. The loss marked the end of the season for Drexel, with hopes of an NCAA bid slim.

The game didn’t follow the same pattern as the last few games for the Dragons. Both teams came out strong in the first half, with Towson taking a slim 5-4 lead. Drexel got on the board first with back-to-back goals from junior midfielder Amanda Norcini and senior attack Alyse Maiden. The Tigers’ Jackie LaMonica netted a hat trick, and then Towson scored another goal to go up 4-2. The Dragons scored a goal to get closer, but the Tigers answered with 38 seconds remaining in the half. Drexel got one more to end the half.

The Dragons came out firing in the second half with goals by senior midfielders Kristin Kopenhaver and Kelli Joran to gain a 6-5 lead. Towson answered with a goal to tie the game, but Norcini put the Dragons ahead one more time. It was none other than LaMonica who scored for the Tigers to tie it again. The Tigers netted one more to finish off the Dragons 8-7. LaMonica, with four goals, was the big factor in the game.

“As a veteran player, Jackie really took the team on her shoulders,” Drexel head coach Anna Marie Vesco said. “Our pressure did not deter her. She was composed and put her shots away. She was their X factor that day.”

Vesco liked the way her team played from whistle to whistle, unlike they had in the past.

“We had a great defensive scheme and went into the match with high pressure,” Vesco said. “We played a hard-fought game. If it weren’t for some untimely turnovers in our attacking end, which led to Towson tying us up, then we would have pulled the upset.”

Towson went on to win the CAA Tournament on its home field May 5 against Hofstra University by a 9-4 score.

A day before the game, Joran and Norcini were both given First Team All-CAA honors at the CAA Awards Banquet. Joran scored 37 goals and nine assists. Joran was also the 11th Dragon to score 100 career goals, and she moved up to 13th on Drexel’s all-time scoring list with 120 points. Norcini scored 20 goals on the season with 50 shots.

Maiden was also honored with Second Team All-CAA honors. Maiden scored 34 goals and had 22 assists. The sniper became the 10th Dragon to score 100 career goals. Maiden reached the 100-goal mark March 22 against The Pennsylvania State University.

Despite losing in the first round of the CAA Tournament, Vesco was impressed with the season overall.

“It was a successful season,” Vesco said. “We played at a high level all year. It was a shame we had to end sooner than expected because the seniors really wanted to win the tournament, but at least we made Towson shake a little with taking the lead with six minutes left to play.”

The post W. lacrosse falls to Towson in CAA Tournament semis appeared first on The Triangle.

Attack Jessica Rudloff is riding an 11-game point streak as the Drexel women’s lacrosse team heads into its CAA Tournament semifinal matchup against Towson May 3. With a win, the Dragons would advance to the championship game for the first time in school history.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team (11-6, 4-3 Colonial Athletic Association) will enter the CAA Tournament on a two-game skid. They have also been outscored 15-5 combined in the first half of both games against Towson University (8-8, 6-1 CAA) and Hofstra University (10-7, 4-3 CAA).

The team’s first-half woes have been an issue the whole season.

“We take a little bit of time to fully turn on our game. All season we have been a second-half team and are now emphasizing putting together a full 60 minutes of Drexel lacrosse,” head coach Anna Marie Vesco said. “If we come out to play the first half as we have been playing the second halves, we will not be getting outscored.”

The stats back up Vesco’s sentiments, especially in their most recent game against Hofstra. Drexel was outscored in the first half 8-3 but outscored Hofstra 7-4 in the second half. The 12-10 loss bumped the Dragons to the fourth seed in the CAA Tournament.

In the first half, senior midfielder Kristin Kopenhaver scored two goals against the Pride, and junior midfielder Amanda Norcini scored one. Senior attacker Alyse Maiden opened the scoring in the second half for the Dragons. Maiden incited a comeback effort by scoring one more goal in the half, followed by Norcini scoring two and Kopenhaver scoring one. Kopenhaver’s goal came with just 48 seconds remaining in the game and was the last goal of the game. The Dragons ran out of time; there were nearly 13 minutes in the second half in which the Dragons didn’t score before Kopenhaver’s goal, sealing the loss.

Coming up short against Hofstra wasn’t the end of the world for Vesco and her team, but it’s never easy failing to complete a comeback.

“It’s never easy to lose a close conference game, but I was proud of the girls for playing until the last whistle,” Vesco said. “We know that if we came to play in the first half, it wouldn’t have been as close and would have ended in our favor.”

Kopenhaver and Norcini both had hat tricks in the game, and Kopenhaver has been particularly on a roll recently, scoring five goals in the last two games. Taking the pressure off leading scorers Maiden and senior midfielder Kelli Joran will be important going into the postseason.

“It is extremely important to have secondary scoring in the CAAs,” Vesco said. “When you are a top scorer for our team, like [Joran] and [Maiden], other teams will be looking to shut you down on attack. They will match their best defenders with you and even go as far as denying you the ball altogether. To have [Kopenhaver] and other secondary scorers step up in CAA play really decides our game offensively. Two players can’t do everything, and we have an attack full of scoring threats who I am excited to see step up this weekend.”

The Dragons will face Towson in the first round of the CAA Tournament May 3 in Towson, Md. The Tigers are the top-seeded team in the tournament, and they beat the Dragons just 11 days ago. Playing Towson so recently gives the Dragons a chance to make adjustments and learn from the way they played them April 21.

“After our previous game against Towson, we have learned how to effectively move the ball and put the ball away on attack by working together,” Vesco said. “Defensively, we have tweaked a few things and added a bit more high pressure. All in all, we do not need to change our game plan but just execute it better this time around.”

If Drexel can pull off the upset, the Dragons will face either Hofstra or James Madison University in the finals May 5. The Dragons have lost to both teams this year, but Vesco said that Drexel’s team has grown since the last time they played both rival teams in the tournament.

“We are a better and smarter team than when we first faced these opponents and are excited to see Towson on Friday and JMU or Hofstra on Sunday,” Vesco said.

The post W. lacrosse stumbles to CAA Tournament berth appeared first on The Triangle.

The Drexel women’s lacrosse team lines up for a faceoff against the University of Delaware April 19 at Vidas Field. Senior attack Kelli Joran scored three goals and added two assists to help the Dragons defeat the Blue Hens by a score of 11-6.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team (11-5, 4-2 Colonial Athletic Association) split a pair of weekend games against rivals the University of Delaware (10-6, 4-3 CAA) and Towson University (8-8, 6-1 CAA).

The Dragons beat Delaware 11-6 April 19 in a game that saw the Blue Hens give up seven goals in the second half after leading going into halftime. Drexel then traveled to Towson, Md., April 21 and fell to the Tigers 14-8.

The Blue Hens got on the board first against the Dragons and carried a 5-4 lead into halftime. Head coach Anna Marie Vesco said that her players were still mentally in the game even though they were down at the half.

“The girls were very focused and mentally ready to play [Delaware],” Vesco said. “It’s a great rivalry.”

Five minutes into the second half, attacker Jessica Rudloff opened the scoring for Drexel. The Dragons scored seven goals and held Delaware to one goal on their way to the win.

Both senior attack Kelli Joran and Rudloff scored hat tricks in the game, while sophomore goalie Teresha Bradley stopped nine shots and was awarded the win.

The story was the same against Towson, except the Dragons came out on the wrong side. Drexel went down early in the first half, giving up seven unanswered goals to start the first half. Freshman midfielder Emily Duffey got the Dragons on the board with eight minutes remaining in the first half, and she scored another with two minutes remaining.

Vesco explained that it was Towson’s system that gave Drexel some trouble.

“Towson capitalized on our mistakes. In addition, Towson runs a backer defense, which is used to neglect challenges and isolation plays. Our attack is more based on isolations, so it took a while for us to get our composure with the passing game.”

The Dragons kept up with the Tigers in the second half, scoring six goals to Towson’s seven, but the first-half deficit was too much for them to overcome. Senior midfielder Kristin Kopenhaver scored two goals in the second half while senior attacker Alyse Maiden, sophomore attacker Alissa Watts, Rudloff and Joran each netted one goal in the half.

The Dragons will travel to Hempstead, N.Y., April 27 to face Hofstra University (9-7, 3-3 CAA) for their final game of the season. Drexel hasn’t beaten the Pride since 2006, and Vesco wants the win for her seniors in particular.

“It would be a nice momentum boost for us to get the [win] against Hofstra,” Vesco said. “Our senior group has never beaten them.”

With the win, Towson locked up the No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament. James Madison University (11-5, 6-1 CAA) will be the No. 2 seed because the Tigers won the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Dragons are currently slotted in third place in the conference with one game remaining. They have already clinched a spot in the conference tournament because of their head-to-head win over Delaware, but a loss to Hofstra would bump them down to fourth. Hofstra holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Delaware.

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[media-credit id=178 align=”alignnone” width=”205″] Senior attack Alyse Maiden has scored 21 goals and recorded 14 assists for a total of 35 points in 12 games this season.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team opened the conference portion of its schedule with two wins to take an early lead atop the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Dragons defeated The College of William & Mary 11-9 and Old Dominion University 8-4 April 5 and 7, respectively.

“Getting two early wins in the CAA is hugely important to us,” head coach Anna Marie Vesco said. “In conference play, any team can beat anyone at any given time. We tell our girls that every possession is important. We are going to continue to take one conference game at a time, but having two wins under our belt is a great start.”

Both games featured Drexel taking a lead into halftime but flirting with disaster in the second half. In both games the Dragons were outscored in the second half, giving the opposition an opportunity to climb back into the game.

Both senior midfielder Kelli Joran and sophomore attack Alissa Watts scored three goals against the Tribe. All of Watts’ goals were in the first half, fueling the Dragons’ 7-4 lead when the horn sounded for halftime. In the second half, William & Mary scored four goals in quick succession to bring the game to a tie with 14 minutes remaining. Just three minutes later, the Dragons got some unexpected heroics from freshman midfielder Emily Duffy, who sparked a three-goal flurry to seal the 11-9 win.

Since senior Kelly Palace went down with a broken arm, Vesco has been looking to Duffy for some offensive production.

“[Duffy] stepped up in a major way this weekend. She was asked to step up and step in for Palace, our starting attacker who broke her arm. [Duffy] is a spark of energy, which is needed to give us a boost in close games such as William & Mary. We look forward to seeing her continue to excel and bring her spark to the rest of the season,” Vesco said.

The Dragons didn’t waste any time to get on the scoreboard against ODU. Watts opened the floodgates just three minutes into the first half, and the rest of the team followed, scoring five total unanswered goals in the half. The scoring continued in the second half with three more goals from Drexel, giving them a comfortable 8-0 lead. The Monarchs ended sophomore goalie Teresha Bradley’s shutout with a goal from Meredith Rogers. The goal sparked a comeback from ODU, as they scored two more unanswered goals before Vesco called a much-needed timeout to settle down her team.

“During the timeout, I told the girls to make sure we do not let ODU back in the game,” she said. “They had played hard up to that point, and we needed to continue to play smart. I told the attack to work for only smart shots and the defense to be ready for ODU to go hard to goal for the time remaining.”

After the timeout, the Dragons only gave up one more goal to hold on for an 8-4 win.

Drexel got goals from seven different players against ODU, including one from Duffy, giving her three goals on her impressive weekend.

The Dragons will host George Mason University April 12 and James Madison University April 14. GMU is currently 5-7 and 0-3 in the CAA, while JMU is right on the heels of Drexel in the standings at 7-5 on the season and 2-1 in the conference.

“I expect this weekend to be another battle,” Vesco said. “In conference games, the winner is decided by who plays harder and smarter. George Mason and James Madison are competitive programs. We are preparing the girls in practice this week to fight hard and take home two more CAA wins.”

This CAA portion of the schedule is important for the Dragons to be able to have a high seed in the CAA Tournament.

The post Women’s lacrosse hits the road to defeat W&M, ODU appeared first on The Triangle.

Senior attack Alyse Maiden scored a hat
trick in Drexel’s 9-7 win over UC Davis.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team faced the 11th-ranked Pennsylvania State University March 22 and only lost by one goal. A little over a week later, the Dragons hosted the University of California, Davis and won 9-7.

Those two games placed Drexel at 7-3 on the season. The Dragons have the best record in the Colonial Athletic Association, but they haven’t played any in-conference games.

Drexel got off to a slow start against Penn State, giving up two early goals before getting on the board. Junior attack Kelly Palace scored, followed by two more goals by the Nittany Lions. After the first half, Penn State led the Dragons 4-1. Senior attack Alyse Maiden opened the scoring in the second half for Drexel. Penn State answered with another goal, but then the Dragons scored two to come within one. Penn State netted three more, and Drexel netted one goal before the 10-minute mark. The Dragons then scored three consecutive goals, with the final goal coming with 54 seconds remaining to bring the game to an 8-8 tie. The comeback was halted, though, when Mackenzie Cyr scored with 34 seconds remaining to ice the 9-8 win for the Nittany Lions.

Palace was dominant in the game, rattling off 10 shots and scoring four goals. Maiden netted two of her own on three shots. Sophomore goalie Teresha Bradley made 11 saves and was pegged for the loss.

The Dragons welcomed UC Davis to Vidas Field March 30, and the game was taken in a different direction than the game against Penn State. UC Davis got on the board first, but the Dragons answered with a goal of their own. UC Davis went on to score four more goals in the first half, and Drexel scored three. The Dragons got goals from players who aren’t usually on the scoresheet — two from sophomore attack Alissa Watts and one from senior midfielder Kristin Kopenhaver.

Maiden opened the second half with a goal to bring the game to a 5-5 tie. The Dragons held UC Davis to just two goals in the second half, while Drexel scored five. Three of the five goals came from Maiden, giving her a hat trick. Senior midfielder Kelli Joran and attack Jessica Rudloff both helped with goals in the 9-7 victory. Bradley made five saves and let in seven goals on her way to the win.

Maiden leads the team in points with 31, while Joran leads the team in goals with 23.

The Dragons will travel to Williamsburg, Va., to face The College of William & Mary in their first CAA action. The Tribe is 3-7 on the season and 0-1 in the CAA. William & Mary played Old Dominion University Feb. 26 and lost 15-9.

The Dragons will need to avoid overlooking a seemingly weaker opponent in order to start a new winning streak.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team’s five-game winning streak was halted March 9 by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The 14-8 loss was their first of the season, but the Dragons bounced back 12-7 in their next game March 13 against Colgate University.

The latest win elevated Drexel’s record to 6-1, the best in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dragons are just above James Madison University in the standings with two games in hand.

Drexel actually got off to a good start in Baltimore, outscoring the Retrievers 4-3 in the first half. The Dragons gave up the first goal of the game to Abby Wilson, but they answered with three straight goals, two from Alyse Maiden and one from Amanda Norcini. Drexel maintained the lead until there was under a minute left in the first half. Alyssa Semones scored back-to-back goals 16 seconds apart to bring the game to a 3-3 tie. With just six seconds remaining in the half, Norcini scored a goal to give Drexel the lead.

The goal to end the half should have been a sign of things to come, but it wasn’t so. UMBC came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, scoring eight straight goals to amass an 11-4 lead. After the eighth goal, head coach Anna Marie Vesco decided to pull sophomore goalie Teresha Bradley and put in junior Amanda Santandrea. The Dragons would go on to score four more goals, including third goals by Maiden and Norcini to complete hat tricks for both of them, but it wasn’t enough to come back from the large deficit.

Vesco has noticed a trend with her team: coming out of the locker room flat after the first half.

“We’ve started slow in the past two games in the beginning of the second half,” Vesco said. “Our girls seem to relax and take their foot off of the accelerator. I’m not exactly sure why, but we definitely need to remedy this, especially for the next two opponents.”

Even after being pulled in the second half of the game against UMBC, Bradley got the start against Colgate.

“No goalie was going to save most of the shots that she faced in UMBC,” Vesco said.

Vesco gave the impression that she didn’t think all of the goals were Bradley’s fault; they were just strong shots by their opponents.

Drexel began the game against Colgate by jumping out to an 8-0 lead. The onslaught lasted about 12 minutes of game time, and in that span senior Kelli Joran scored three goals and junior Kelly Palace scored two goals. Colgate scored two goals at the end of the half.

In the second half, Joran opened the scoring two minutes in to give the Dragons a 9-2 lead. Then came a flashback to UMBC, with Colgate scoring six unanswered goals. The Dragons were able to weather the storm and score three more goals at the end of the game to ice it.

Joran’s four goals in the game lifted her to a team-high 19 on the season. Maiden is currently second in team goals and points with 13 and 23, respectively.

Drexel will face a tough task March 17 against the University of Louisville. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents in the past two games 42-3. If the Dragons can’t figure out their flat second half, they won’t fare well against Louisville’s potent offense.

[media-credit id=178 align=”alignleft” width=”200″] Attack Jessica Rudloff scored two goals in Drexel’s 14-10 win over Villanova March 6 at Vidas Field. Rudloff was one of six Dragons to score at least two goals in the game.

For the first time since 2006, the Drexel University women’s lacrosse team is 5-0 to start the season. The Dragons defeated city rivals Saint Joseph’s University and Villanova University March 1 and 3, respectively.

“It feels really good to win out against the Philly teams this year considering the amount of competition Philly has,” head coach Anna Marie Vesco said. “We’re very proud to represent West Philly and look forward to continuing to do so throughout the season. Now it’s time to take the state against [The Pennsylvania State University] later this month.”

Senior Kelli Joran continued her monster season, scoring another hat trick, her fourth of the season, against St. Joe’s and adding two more against Villanova. Senior Alyse Maiden also broke out of her early-season slump, scoring four goals of the season against Nova.

St. Joe’s was undefeated coming into the game, having beaten Niagara University and Wagner College. Drexel traveled across town to face the Hawks in their second straight game against a Philadelphia team. The Dragons got on the board early with back-to-back goals from senior midfielder Kristin Kopenhaver and attacker Jessica Rudloff to make it 2-0. St. Joe’s answered with back-to-back goals by Julia Falcone to bring the game to a 2-2 tie. Both teams exchanged goals after that, ending the first half in a 3-3 tie.

Joran scored her second goal of the game to start the second half, giving the Dragons a one-goal lead. The Hawks answered soon after to bring the game back to a tie. Drexel scored back-to-back goals from junior midfielder Amanda Norcini and Joran to complete her hat trick. Falcone scored her third and fourth goals of the game to bring the game to a 6-6 tie. The game remained tied until sophomore midfielder Joelle Hartke scored with 5:27 remaining. Hartke scored again to put an exclamation point on the win with 1:38 remaining, sealing Drexel’s 8-6 win.

“We always emphasize ‘answering back’ to goals that happen against us, and the girls don’t have to be asked to do so,” Vesco said. “We have a team of athletes who will continue to fight for the lead for 60 minutes. It’s just not in us to give up.”

Five days later the Dragons welcomed the Wildcats to Vidas Field for their third and final matchup against Philadelphia-area opponents. Villanova was 1-2 coming into the game, losing to Lehigh University and Princeton University but beating Central Connecticut State University. The Dragons came out slow in this one, allowing two early goals. They answered with four unanswered goals by Norcini, Maiden, Kopenhaver and Joran. The Wildcats answered back with a goal of their own, but the Dragons scored three goals by Maiden, Rudloff and Joran to end the first half 7-3.

Maiden opened the scoring for the Dragons, completing her second hat trick of the season. But the Wildcats answered with a goal of their own. Drexel answered with back-to-back goals from Rudloff and Norcini. Nova answered with a goal, but Maiden scored another, increasing her total to four on the game. Nova kept pace, scoring again, but the Dragons scored back-to-back goals to widen the lead to a seemingly insurmountable 13-6. Both teams traded goals again, but with eight minutes remaining the Wildcats started to mount a comeback. Nova scored three unanswered goals at the end of the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Dragons’ lead. The final buzzer sounded, and Drexel prevailed 14-10.

The Dragons will travel to Baltimore to face the University of Maryland, Baltimore County March 9. UMBC is currently 3-2 on the season.