The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team has played exceptionally well this season. With a record of 4-2, the team has been on a roll. They were sporting a three game win streak until a tough overtime loss against Rutgers University March 4.

March 11, the Dragons looked to get back on track with a win against Villanova University. The Wildcats were another tough team, but the Dragons have proved this year that they will not let tough teams intimidate them.

Villanova struck first just five minutes into the first half. The Dragons looked to retaliate quickly to halt all Wildcat momentum. Senior Lauren Gerrie scored her fifth goal of the season off a nice assist from senior Caroline Thiele.

The name of the game for the middle of the first half was defense. Both teams stopped potential goals. While Drexel struggled with turnovers, they compensated with goal stopping defense.

Eventually the turnover riddled first half caught up with Drexel. The Wildcats scored their second goal at the 17:59 mark to give Villanova a 2-1 lead. Drexel then needed a goal to keep the game in their reach.

They did themselves one better. They were able to net two goals to take a 3-2 lead. At the 16:19 mark, Lauren Gerrie scored her second goal of the game off another nice assist, this time from senior Devin Nihill.

About a minute later the Dragons got another goal from graduate student Lisa Rogers. Rogers’ eighth goal of the season gave the Dragons the lead. After gaining the lead Drexel never looked back.

Devin Nihill earned herself a goal at the 13:57 mark. Nihill’s 12th goal of the season gave the Dragons a 4-2 lead. The Wildcats retaliated a minute later with a goal to make the score 4-3.

Nearing the five-minute mark, the Dragons scored once more in the first half. Nihill scored her second goal of the game and 13th of the season to put the Dragons up by two heading into the second half.

It took Drexel less than five minutes to nab the first goal of the second half. Lisa Rogers scored her second goal of the game to put the Dragons up by three. Junior Nadia Pelham-Lacey scored her 17th goal of the season at the 20:37 mark. This goal gave the Dragons a solid 7-3 lead. This game was not over, however, as Villanova made a push to get back into it.

The Wildcats scored two unanswered goals between the 16 and 15-minute marks. At the 12:36 mark the Wildcats scored again to quickly close the Dragon lead to 7-6. Drexel was getting sloppy and could not stop the Villanova comeback until Nihill scored her third goal of the game.

Nihill’s score put the Dragons up 8-6, a lead which the Wildcats could not overcome. Villanova scored once more, but that was the end of their comeback effort.

The Dragons won this game by a final score of 8-7, a score that was much closer than it had to be. Even with the comeback scare this was a nice game for the Lady Dragons.

The Dragons were able to withstand a comeback attempt and win their fourth game of the season. Drexel now sits at 4-2 with its next game March 19 against Albany University in Albany. The team will look to start a new win streak and build upon their already impressive season.

The Drexel University wrestling team took to the mats this past weekend in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships. The championships were held in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. It was a good showing for Drexel as six wrestlers were honored at the podium with a seventh place award or better. The mat men had not wrestled since their weekend against the University of Pennsylvania almost three weeks before. The rest was certainly helpful, and they did not seem to give in to any potential rust.  

Tanner Shoap wrestled Penn’s Jeremy Schwartz  in his first match of the day. Schoap defeated Schwartz on a 10-3 decision. Schoap lost his next match against Trey Chalifoux out of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Chalifoux defeated Schoap on a 7-4 decision. In the consolation rounds Shoap defeated his next two opponents but lost to No. 4 Noah Baughman from Cornell University, and then again to Chalifoux. It was a solid day for Shoap, and it earned him a sixth place finish.

In the 133-pound weight class, Kevin Devoy Jr. started off strong. He defeated Audey Ashkar out of Binghamton University on a 4-2 decision. Devoy then beat No. 6 Austin Harry from West Point on a 4-0 decision. Unfortunately, Devoy forfeited his next three matches due to injury. Even with the forfeited matches he was still able to take a sixth place finish.

David Pearce wrestled in some tough matches in the 141-pound weight class. Pearce’s first match came against No. 2 Randy Cruz out of Lehigh University. Cruz defeated Pearce on a 6-0 decision. Pearce defeated his next opponent on a 9-4 decision, but lost his final match against No. 8 Jacob Macalolooy from Columbia University.  Macalolooy won on a tough 2-1 decision.

In the 149-pound weight division, Matthew Cimato dominated his first two opponents with a pin and a majority 11-1 decision. Cimato lost his next match against No. 2 Jordan Laster from Princeton University, but came back and defeated No. 8 Michael Sprague, from American University, in his very next match. Cimato lost his final match against No. 1 Laike Gardner of Lehigh University, but earned an overall placement of fourth.

Willie Davis wrestled in the 157-pound division. He wrestled well but lost his only two matches. For the 165-pound division, Austin Rose took a well-deserved seventh place finish. In his final match Rose defeated No. 2 Cole Walter from Lehigh University. It was a tightly fought match, but Rose was able to win with a 3-2 decision.

For the 174-pound division, Ebed Jarrell lost two of his matches, but did have a dominating win over No. 8 Sage Heller. Jarrell defeated Heller on an impressive 8-0 majority decision. In the 184-pound matches, Alex DeCiantis earned a sixth place finish. DeCiantis’ key wins came on a 3-2 decision win against Kanon Dean from Harvard University, a 3-1 decision against No. 6 C.J. LaFragola from Brown University and a 2-1 decision against No. 8 Joe Heyob out of the University of Pennsylvania.

Joshua Murphy did not place in the 197-pound division, but he did have an impressive 15-7 win against Michael Bulkin of Columbia. In the 285-pound division, Joey Goodhart dominated the competition. He won three straight matches to take second place overall. His only loss came in his final match against No. 3 Garrett Ryan of Columbia.

Overall Drexel had an outstanding showing. Six wrestlers placed, which is an impressive feat. Joey Goodhart was the clear dominating force for the Dragons, but in the end, each wrestler wrestled tough and with grit. Between March 16 and March 18, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I tournament will be held in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of members of the team will have the opportunity to face off against the best in the country. It will be exciting to see Drexel represented in the tournament.

The Drexel University men’s and women’s swimming and diving team took to the water in the in the Colonial Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 22 through Feb. 25.

The women’s team placed fourth out of seven spots, and the men’s team placed second out of five. Participants from both teams had exceptional tournaments. Both Drexel and CAA records were broken by both sides and many medals were taken home as well.

The championships took place over the course of four days,. For its first-day performance the men’s squad took a silver medal in the 800-yard free relay. The team, comprised of Stathis Malamas, Patrick Cobb, Luke Hanner and Ivo Pejovic swam for a time of 6:32.72. The women’s 200-yard medley relay team, made up of Alexa Kutch, Rachel Bernhardt, April Forsthoffer and Claudia Duguay, took a gold medal after swimming an impressive 1:39.61.

The second, was an even more impressive day for both teams. The women’s swimming team took home a silver in the 200-yard free relay. A team of Kutch, Aubrey Murray, Duguay and Bernhardt swam a 1:32.91 to take the silver.

In the 50-yard free, Rachel Bernhardt took a bronze with a time of 23.21. In the men’s 200-yard free relay a team of Malamas, Jason Arthur, David Kneiss and Pejovic took a silver with a swim time of 1:21.41.

Arthur swam 1:45.92 in the 200-yard individual medley which earned him a gold. Anthony Musciano took home a silver medal in the 1-meter dive with a score of 295.75, and in the same dive Michael Binkauskas earned a bronze medal with score of 260.20.

On Feb. 24, the women’s team took home three more gold medals. Kutch swam a 53.25 in the 100-yard back to earn herself a gold. Bernhardt took gold in the 100-yard breast with a swim time of 1:00.37.

In the 400-yard medley relay Kutch, Bernhardt, April Forsthoffer, and Duguay took the gold with a time of 3:40.03. In the 1-meter dive Madison Kramer scored a 288.10 to earn herself a silver medal.

On the men’s side, Joseph Brown earned a gold medal in the 100-yard breast with a time of 55.10. Arthur, Joseph Brown, J.T. Lumpkin and Pejovic swam a 3:14.37 in the 400-yard medley, relay which earned them the gold. In the 100-yard fly Lumpkin swam a 48.48 to earn himself a silver, and in the 200-yard free Pejovic earned a silver medal with a time of 1:38.75.

Ralph Cannarozzi III took home a bronze in the 100-yard breast with a time of 55.69. Luke Hanner took a bronze in the 200 free, and Jason Arthur took a bronze in the 400 individual medley.

On the final day of competition the women’s team earned two more gold medals and one more bronze. Kutch swam a 1:55.12 in the 200-yard back to earn another gold. Rachel Bernhardt swam a 2:12.60 and earned herself another gold in the 200-yard breast.

In the 400-yard free relay Bernhardt, Emily Joyce, Kutch, and Duguay earned themselves a bronze medal with a time of 3:24.79. On the men’s side, Jason Arthur won a gold in the 200 back and teammate Joseph Brown won a gold in the 200-yard breast. In the 3-meter dive Anthony Musciano did a terrific job earning his gold medal with a score of 326.45.

Simon Carne earned the silver in the 3-meter dive with a score of 309.60. In the 400 free relay Malamas, Arthur, Hanner and Pejovic won a silver medal with a swim time of 2:58.00. Patrick Cobb battled through the 1650-yard free to earn himself a bronze medal with a time of 15:32.78.

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had a phenomenal championship. Combined, both teams were able to break 20 records.

The women’s swimming and diving team will be competing once more this season in the NCAA DI Women’s Swimming Championships. The NCAA Championship will take place in Indianapolis, March 15 through 18. The men’s season will end on their high note of placing second in the CAA championships with a plethora of medals and broken records.

The Drexel University wrestling team spent Feb. 4 in a double header against Franklin and Marshall College and Hofstra University.

The day began in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with the Dragons matched up against Franklin and Marshall, and it ended at the Daskalakis Athletic Center with Drexel facing Hofstra. The Dragons have been handling their business lately, but the Saturday back-to-back was going to be tough. Drexel came into the weekend on a two match win streak and the expectation was for them to continue dominating, regardless of travel.

The Franklin and Marshall match opened with Drexel junior Zack Fuentes against Edgar Garcia in the 125-pound division. Fuentes put the moves on Garcia, winning by a majority decision of 8-0.

In the 133-pound division, No. 13 senior Kevin Devoy Jr. beat his opponent with a win-by-fall 3:50 into the match. Senior David Pearce followed these victories with a dominating win of his own. In the 141-pound weight class Pearce beat his opponent on an 11-3 majority decision.

No. 17 senior Matthew Cimato followed in the winning parade by defeating his opponent on a 15-3 majority decision. Sophomore Willie Davis was not able to follow up with a win of his own, but he wrestled hard in the 157-pound class. Davis lost a tough 5-3 decision.

Junior Austin Rose and freshman Ebed Jarrell each won their matches in the 165 and 174-pound classes respectively. Rose defeated Rob King with a win-by-fall just 2:38 into the match, and Jarrell beat James Stillerman on a 14-4 majority decision.

In the 184-pound weight class junior Alex DeCiantis was defeated in a tough match. Anthony Mancini defeated DeCiantis by a 4-0 decision.

Both junior Joshua Murphy and No. 19 junior Joey Goodhart won their matches off of forfeits in the 197 and 285-pound weight classes respectively.

The Dragons beat Franklin and Marshall with a team score of 40-6. After their win, the team traveled from Lancaster back to Philadelphia where they took on Hofstra in the second match of the team’s doubleheader.

The match started off with a forfeit and a win for Pearce in the 141-pound division. In the 149-pound weight class No. 17 Matthew Cimato beat Ryan Burkert on a 4-1 decision.

Davis followed up Cimato’s win with a win of his own in the 157-pound division. Davis was able to bring his match to overtime where he scored on a takedown to win the match on a 17-15 decision.

Rose recorded a win-by-fall against his opponent in the 165-pound match, and Jarrell won a close 8-7 decision in the 174-pound class. In the 184-pound division DeCiantis had a nice match, beating his opponent by a majority 14-5 decision.

In the 197-pound weight class Murphy lost a tough tiebreaker match against former teammate Nezar Haddad, 2-1. In the 285-pound weight class No. 15 Joey Goodhart won his match with a 4-1 decision.

The last two matches were in the lightweight category, where Fuentes beat Jacob Martin in the 125-pound division by way of a win-by-fall. Devoy Jr. followed that match with a win in the 133-pound weight division by way of a 7-1 decision victory.

The Dragons won this match with a total team score of 36-2, which increased the team’s win streak to four straight matches. Even with the traveling between the matches that day, Drexel wrestled hard and without distraction.

Up Next,  Drexel will take on Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. This is the only match that the Dragons have for the coming weekend so they will be well rested and ready to increase their win streak. The match will take place Feb. 11.

The Drexel University men’s wrestling team took to the mat this past weekend against against Binghamton University Jan. 20 and Oregon State University Jan. 21. The match against Oregon State was filled with emotion and excitement as Drexel hosted a spirit night event.

However, before battling in front of a raucous home crowd, Drexel went on the road to take on Binghamton. The match began with the heavyweights as junior Joey Goodhart looked to start off the night with a win. Goodhart wrestled well and earned Drexel its first match win of the night with a solid 6-2 decision.

Following Goodhart, the match reversed course and went to the lightweights for the next matchup. Junior Tanner Shoap took to the mat for the 125-pound weight class. He followed Goodhart’s victory with a win of his own by way of a 4-2 decision.

Interestingly, the next match featured a 125-pound weight class regular in junior Zack Fuentes. This time, however, Fuentes was wrestling in the 133-pound weight class. Fuentes did an excellent job in the higher weight division earning another win for Drexel. He defeated his opponent in a 6-4 decision.

Senior David Pearce wrestled in the 141-pound weight class. It was a tough match with both parties wrestling hard but unfortunately Pearce lost this match by close 2-0 decision.

No. 17 senior Matthew Cimato captured another victory for the Dragons in the 149-pound weight division as he was able to defeat his opponent in a close 5-4 decision.

In the 157-pound weight class, junior Ryan O’Connor lost a tough matchup by way of a technical fall. Freshman Dakota Greene took the same outcome in the 165-pound weight division. Freshman Ebed Jarrell put up a tough fight in the 174-pound class, but lost in a 3-1 decision.

In the 184-pound weight division, junior Alex DeCiantis took a tough loss to a No. 11 ranked Steve Schneider. Schneider was able to defeat DeCiantis on a 10-3 decision.

To close out the match, junior Joshua Murphy lost a tough matchup in the 197-pound weight class. Drexel ultimately lost to Binghamton University by a final team score of 22-12.

The Dragons looked to turn things around in their next match against Oregon State University. With a big spirited crowd, the emotion and adrenaline was certainly pumping.

Shoap started off the match in the 125-pound division. He wrestled in a tough match going back and forth with his opponent, Kegan Calkins. Shoap pulled out a tough 15-11 decision. In the 133-pound weight class, sophomore Anthony Canfora lost a tough match by way of a technical fall.

David Pearce wrestled in the 141-pound weight class. Pearce out matched his opponent, beating him with a 4-0 decision.

Cimato recorded a win in the 149-pound weight class by defeating his opponent with a pin. Sophomore Willie Davis, junior Austin Rose, Jarrell and DeCiantis each came away with decisions in their favor giving the spirit night crowd a lot to cheer for.

To round out the match, Murphy lost in the 197-pound division to a tough Corey Griego who is ranked No. 18. Goodhart retaliated by defeating his opponent in the 285-pound weight class by a close 5-4 decision.

The spirited crowd had a lot to cheer about as the Dragons took the victory from Oregon State with a final team score of 28-8. The Dragons will have just one match this weekend Jan. 29 as they take on American University at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

The Drexel University wrestling team took part in two matchups this past weekend. The Dragons, who are currently ranked No. 25, went up against No. 7 Cornell University Jan. 13 and No. 17 Stanford University Jan 15.

The Dragons began their tough weekend in Ithaca, New York, where they took on Cornell. Junior Tanner Shoap began the day for Drexel in the 125-pound division. Shoap had a very good match, which ended in a technical fall in Shoap’s favor.

In the 133-pound weight class, freshman Brendon Hasson took to the mat against No. 19 Mark Grey. Grey recorded a win by fall against Hasson, taking back any lost momentum.

In the 141-pound weight division, freshman Vincent Foggia lost to his opponent in an 11-2 majority decision. No. 18 senior Matthew Cimato took back some momentum for Drexel when he beat Jonathan Furnas in an 8-0 majority decision, in the 149 weight division.

Sophomore Willie Davis competed in the 157-pound weight division but lost to Cornell’s Taylor Simaz in a 14-4 majority decision.

Junior Austin Rose wrestled in the 165-pound weight class against No. 4 Dylan Palacio. Rose wrestled tough but lost to Palacio in a 12-2 majority decision.

Freshman Ebed Jarrell took back some momentum with a big win over his No. 19-ranked opponent. Jarrell wrestled in the 174-pound weight class and won his match with a 13-8 decision.

In the 184-pound weight division, freshman Owen Brooks had a tough task as he had to go up against an opponent ranked No. 4. He wrestled hard but lost by way of a fall.

Juniors Joshua Murphy and Joey Goodhart both rounded out the day in their respective 197-pound and 285-pound weight classes. Both wrestlers won, but unfortunately it was not enough for Drexel to beat Cornell. The Dragons lost by a final score of 25-18.

The last match of the weekend was back at home in the Daskalakis Athletic Center against No. 17 Stanford. The match started with the 165-pound weight class, where Austin Rose faced No. 18 Keaton Subjeck. Rose battled, but ultimately it was Subjeck who came away with a 3-2 decision.

Ebed Jarrell wrestled in the next match, which was the 174-pound weight division. Jerrell also lost after battling through a tough match. The end decision was 11-6.

Junior Alex DeCiantis brought Drexel back into the picture with a big win in the 184-pound weight division. DeCiantis won his match on a 10-3 decision.

In the upper weight classes both Joshua Murphy and Joey Goodhart fought with heart. Murphy wrestled against No. 20 Josh Marchok and lost in a tie breaker. Goodhart also found himself in a tie breaker against his opponent, but he was able to win the 285-pound match.

Following the heavyweight bout, the matches went back down to the lower echelon of weight classes. Tanner Shoap lost his matchup in the 125-pound division. It was a tough match, but Shoap ultimately fell by a 9-5 decision. In the 133-pound division, Brendan Hasson lost his match by fall and in the 141-pound division Vincent Foggia lost to his opponent by way of a technical fall.

Matthew Cimato picked up points for Drexel by recording a 5-0 decision over his opponent. Unfortunately, Willie Davis was unable to establish a winning streak as he fell to his opponent by way of an 11-2 majority.

The Dragons lost to Stanford 25-9, but there was certainly a winning experience for many wrestlers. Drexel will have another double header  as they will travel to Binghamton, New York, to take on Binghamton University Jan. 20, before returning to the Daskalakis Athletic Center Jan. 21. That matchup against Oregon State University will also be Spirit Night.Hopefully the energy of the spirited crowd can help the Mat Men earn a victory.

The Drexel University wrestling team took to the mat at the Southern Scuffle, held in Chattanooga, Tennessee Jan 1. Drexel and 22 other schools were present on this New Year’s Day match. The Dragons wrestled some tough opponents, but at the end they did an excellent job keeping composure and wrestling with technique.

Junior Tanner Shoap wrestled in the 125-pound weight division. He lost his two matches, but he wrestled fiercely. He faced two tough opponents, one of which was ranked number eight.

In the 133-pound weight class, senior Kevin Devoy Jr. was the third ranked wrestler in his weight class. Devoy’s first match was against Dylan Hyder out of the United States Air Force Academy. He beat Hyder on an impressive 13-5 majority decision.

Devoy was then defeated by number six Josh Alber of Northern Iowa University in a tough fought 8-4 decision. He turned things around, however, and won his next three matches.

The first win in the streak was a medical forfeit, but then he went on to defeat his opponents by way of 10-4 and 7-6 decisions. Devoy lost his final match against Alber, but overall he took home a fourth place finish.

In the 149-pound weight class, senior Matthew Cimato began his matches with an impressive win streak. He won three in a row with a 13-0 majority decision, a technical fall and a 4-0 decision.

Cimato then lost to number three Patricio Lugo out of Edinboro University in a close 3-2 decision. Cimato turned around and won his next two matches by a 5-1 decision and a 11-0 majority decision. He lost his last two matches to two tough opponents ranked in the top five, but he still came away with a solid sixth place finish.

In the 165-pound weight division, junior Austin Rose started off his matches with a solid 6-2 decision win. He lost his next match to a tough opponent but he kept the match close only to lose in an 8-5 decision. Rose won in his next two matches by way of 5-4 and 6-5 decision, but lost his final match.

Freshman Dakota Greene also wrestled in the 165-pound weight class. He wrestled hard but lost his two matches. He certainly showed his toughness, however, hanging in with two good wrestlers.

In the 174-pound weight class, freshman Ebed Jarrell won one of his three matches. He defeated Tanner Davis from the University of Northern Colorado on a 11-2 majority decision.

Juniors Alex DeCiantis and Stephen Loiseau both wrestled in the 184-pound weight
division.  DeCiantis lost his first match but came back to win his next three. He won a 5-4 decision, a 7-6 decision and a 3-1 decision. DeCiantis went on to lose his final match, but overall the showing was a strong
one for him.

Loiseau put together a similar effort. He won two out of his four matches,  with one of the losses coming from his teammate DeCiantis.

In the 197-pound weight class, junior Joshua Murphy lost his first match, but similarly to his teammates he went on to win his next three matches. He won by way of a win by fall, 6-2 decision and a 3-2 decision. Murphy lost his last match in a close 10-9 decision.

In the 285-pound division, junior Joey Goodhart put together an even performance. He won his first two matches by a technical fall and then a 4-3 decision. Goodhart lost his final two matches to two very good wrestlers. The final counts in both matches were an 8-0 majority decision.

Overall, the Dragons had a solid showing at the Southern Scuffle. They placed 12 out of 23 schools, so certainly not a bad performance but there is also room to improve. Drexel will be facing Cornell University Jan. 13 in Ithaca, New York. Drexel will then come back home to the Daskalakis Athletic Center where they will face Stanford University Jan. 15.

The Drexel University wrestling team has started their season hot, winning their first four matches. The Dragons’ squad of mat men took their talents to West Point, New York to face off against the United States Military Academy Nov. 13.

The team was coming off of a strong 36-9 win in their previous matchup and looked to continue their dominance this season.

In the 125, junior Tanner Shoap looked to get the team rolling early. Shoap won his match after scoring a takedown in sudden victory. Shoap scored nine points while his opponent scored just seven.

Senior Kevin Devoy Jr. was next at 133. Devoy Jr. dominated his opponent by scoring a major decision and winning the match 8-0. With wins for both Devoy. and Shoap, the Dragons were up by a score of 7-0.

Senior David Pearce was next in the 141 weight class facing an opponent ranked No. 17 in the nation. Pearce fought with grit and toughness but he lost the match by a score of 9-5, giving West Point three points.

In the 149 weight class, senior Matthew Cimato took back momentum for the Dragons by beating his opponent in a 5-1 decision.

West Point came right back in the 157 division as Drexel sophomore Mike Comunale went up against No. 14 Russ Persons. Persons beat Comunale on a technical fall, putting the score at 9-8.

In the 165 division, junior Austin Rose battled in a tough match to give the Dragons a bigger lead. He beat his opponent in a 7-4 decision and increased the lead to 13-8.

In the 174 bout, junior Nick Elmer fought in another tough matchup, but he lost by a close 2-0 decision.     

Junior Alex DeCiantis wrestled in the 184 division. He scored three points in the decision but ultimately lost 8-3.

The match came down to the 197 and 285 weight classes. Junior Joshua Murphy had a tough task in the 197 division battling against No. 11 Rocco Caywood. Murphy showed true skill as he defeated his opponent by a 6-4 decision.

With the match now at 16-14 in favor of Drexel, the outcome was in the hands of junior Joey Goodhart. Goodhart secured the victory for the Dragons by a win-by-fall, making the matches final score 22-14.

The Dragons did a great job facing tough opponents in this match and captured the victory. They showed their toughness and their skill, needing both to edge out this victory. The next round of matches will come from the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia Nov. 20

On Nov. 4  the Drexel University hockey team took to the field in the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals game against the University of Delaware.

The Dragons certainly wanted to show up and try to fight their way to the CAA Championship.

Delaware came out of the gates ready to strike as they normally do. The Blue Hens attempted a few shots on goal early but the Drexel defense was able to stop them from scoring. However, almost nine minutes into the first half, the Blue Hens scored their first goal.

With the score 1-0, the Dragons needed to make sure they stayed on top of Delaware. The Blue Hens are too good to keep up with if they are allowed to gain momentum. Drexel played hard-nosed defense after allowing the score. The Dragons kept Delaware from scoring for a good portion of the first half, until the 20:36 mark when the Blue Hens found the back of the net again to make the score 2-0.

Drexel continued to fight hard, but Delaware was on their game. The Blue Hens scored one last time in the first half at the 30:46 mark to put themselves ahead by three goals. Drexel could only muster up two shots, so the offense’s struggles were likely a point of discussion for halftime.

The second half rolled around and the Blue Hens made sure Drexel did not come out of the gates firing, as they have been prone to do.

Delaware quickly established themselves by scoring their fourth goal just three minutes into the half. The Blue Hens then turned around and scored again two minutes later, putting the score at 5-0.

Delaware scored one last time in the half, essentially closing the game out. The Dragons did muster up one goal with just about seven minutes left in regulation as senior Jessica McCarthy scored an emotional last goal of her great college career. Her score put the overall total to 6-1, the eventual final score.

It is certainly sad that the Dragons could not move on to the CAA Championship game, but they had a great season. This is a young team that has a lot of potential.

“They worked hard to improve their decision making and savvy, but as with any young team we took some risks in our individual matchups. Coming into next year, we will have a large group of players that have had time to develop together in high-level situations. The goal is to take what we have learned and continue to build continuity with our strong and now experienced squad,” head coach Denise Zelenak said.

It will certainly be exciting to watch this team next season, and see how they use what they have learned this year in their future games.

This was the final game for seniors Idrienne Walker and Jessica McCarthy.

“Two different people off the field but they are unified in their passion for hockey and desire to win. We will miss their confidence and field presence which directly impacted our success this season, earning us a highly sought after spot in the CAA Championship for the third time in their careers,” Zelenak said.

To add on to her career accolades, McCarthy was awarded a spot on the All-CAA Team, along with sophomore teammate Katie Bagdon.

The Drexel University field hockey team played its last two games of the 2016 regular season this past weekend when it faced the Towson University Tigers Oct. 28 and University of Delaware Blue Hens Oct. 30.

Although both games varied in terms of difficulty, the Dragons needed to play at their best to win especially against a tough team like Delaware.

Towson was the first matchup of the weekend for the Dragons. The Tigers came into the matchup struggling with a record of 2-15, while the Dragons entered with a modest 7-9 record. This was a possible trap game for the Dragons and they couldn’t overlook the strength of the Tigers’ squad. .

The Dragons came out playing tough defense and limited Towson to just one shot on goal the entire first half. On the other hand, the Dragons had multiple shots on goal but could not execute. It was an exciting half for Drexel fans to see the offense have a plethora of scoring opportunities, but unfortunately the Dragons could not reach net.

The second half was a bit different as Drexel came out of the gates firing. Sophomore Megan Wiest scored the first goal of the game for either side. She was assisted by a nice pass from the senior Idrienne Walker.

About two minutes later the Dragons were back on the offensive. Megan Wiest again scored, this time taking advantage of a nice assist from junior Alison McCardell, and pushed Drexel’s lead to 2-0.

The Dragons scored once more off of the stick of freshman Tess Bernheimer, making the game 3-0. Bernheimer’s goal helped her win the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week.

The Tigers scored shortly after, but that was their only score of the game. Drexel took the win by a score of 3-1 then moved on to face Delaware.

Delaware was ranked ninth in the nation, so the Dragons were going to have to bring their A-game in this matchup.

The Blue Hens came out firing by taking five shots within the first 12 minutes of the game. Sophomore Erin Gilchrist did an excellent job in goal. Each of the first five Blue Hen shots required her to make a save, and five saves is what she made. Gilchrist’s play was instrumental in preventing the Blue Hens from gaining early momentum.

Delaware continued to attack the goal, but Gilchrist made two more big saves in the middle of the half. Finally, however, Delaware scored the first goal of the game to make the score 1-0. About five minutes later, they scored again to put the score up to 2-0.

The Dragons unfortunately could not keep the ball on the Delaware side of the field and could not muster up a single shot on goal in the first half.

The second half was much of the same. Delaware was relentless in their attack, taking shot after shot. Erin Gilchrist continued to make saves to try and keep the Dragons in the game.

With about 10 minutes left in the half the Blue Hens scored again to push their lead to 3-0. The Dragons quickly retaliated with a goal of their own, but that was the only goal the Dragons managed.

With one last goal scored by Delaware, the result was decided, a 4-1 victory for the Blue Hens. The Dragons were outshot by the Blue Hens 22 to 2. The loss dropped the Dragons to 8-10 on the season and 3-3 in CAA games.

Drexel will face Delaware again in the conference semifinals this Friday, Nov. 4. Look for the Dragons to work on both stopping the Delaware attack and intensifying their offensive attack. The Dragons played well against Delaware, and if they can game plan effectively, an upset is definitely on the table.