Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
George Mason
LaBella Leads Dragons to Victory over George Mason
4/15/2007 3:35:09 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Philadelphia – Drexel goalie Lauren LaBella (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) held George Mason to just four goals while recording 16 saves as the Dragons defeated the Patriots, 10-4, for Drexel's first-ever win in the series. The Patriots' four goals were the least scored for George Mason since April 1, 2005 when they netted just four against Old Dominion. Kaitlin Keegan (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and Kerry Kelly (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) provided the offense as Keegan recorded a hat trick while Kelly scored a pair of goals and assisted on two more. The win moved Drexel to 10-4 (2-3 CAA) while the Patriots dipped to 5-7 (0-4 CAA).
Drexel opened the game with three goals in the first nine minutes while LaBella kept Mason off the scoreboard for almost 21 minutes. Emily Hoesch (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), who had her 46-game goal scoring streak snapped in Drexel's last game, wasted little time getting another streak started. The senior midfielder took a Gwenna Johnson (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) pass in front and scored to put the Dragons on the board. Jessica Bill (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) scored less than a minute later after taking a pass from Kimberly Kabernagel (Levittown, Pa./Conwell Egan) who had caused a turnover on defense. Kabernagel found Bill after a foul on Mason and the junior fired a shot past goalie Sara Longobucco. Hoesch would add another goal as she collected a Kerry Kelly (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) pass from behind the net to score her second of the day. The Patriots finally solved LaBella with 9:15 remaining in the first half as Laura King brought Mason to within two goals. Keegan responded as she started her scoring for the day. The junior scored on a free-position shot less than a minute after Mason's goal then tacked on another goal four minutes later. With 2:45 left in the half, Kelly capped the first period's scoring with her first goal to give the Dragons a 6-1 advantage heading into the break.
The Patriots appeared to have made some offensive adjustments at halftime as they scored less than two minutes into the half, but LaBella would be up to the task the rest of the way. Drexel's sophomore goalie allowed just one more goal until just 34 seconds remained when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Keegan went on to score her third goal while Katie Bradley (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and Kelly also tallied. Sarah Carter (Columbia, Md./Long Reach) finished Drexel's scoring with a nice individual effort to outmaneuver the Mason defense and score with just 3:32 remaining. LaBella made 10 saves in the second half and allowed just three goals as she faced 24 shots in the period.
For the game, the Patriots outshot Drexel 42-28, and controlled 10 of the game's 16 draws. Longobucco recorded seven saves as she took the loss while LaBella's 16 saves matched a career high.
The Dragons return to action on Friday, April 20 for a road game at Towson in a pivotal CAA game. Game time is 4:00 p.m.
Scoring Summary
D 6-4-10
GM 1-3-4
Individual Scoring
Drexel: Kerry Kelly 2-2, Kaitlin Keegan 3-0, Emily Hoesch 2-0, Katie Bradley 1-0, Jessica Bill 1-0, Sarah Carter 1-0, Gwenna Johnson 0-1. Saves: Lauren LaBella 16.
George Mason: Megan Udovich 2-0, Laura King 2-0, Brittney Berger 0-1, Melissa Venturi 0-1. Saves: Sara Longobucco 7.
Shots: D 28, GM 42
Groundballs: D 24, GM 20
Draw Controls: D 6, GM 10
Free-position shots: D 1-4, J 1-6
