Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Towson
Dragons' Furious Rally Comes Up Just Short Against No. 20 Towson
4/6/2008 3:31:53 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Philadelphia – Drexel women's lacrosse trailed 10-4 with less than nine minutes remaining but rallied to draw within one goal of 20th-ranked Towson but the Tigers were able to hold on for the 11-10 victory. Drexel's Katie Bradley (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) recorded a career-high four goals while Katie Lawson (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) contributed three. Towson's Hillary Fratzke led the Tigers with three goals and two assists. The loss dropped Drexel to 8-5 (0-3 CAA) while Towson improved to 9-3 (3-0 CAA). Four of the Dragons' five losses this season have come by one goal, including two to nationally ranked opponents.
The Tigers seemed to be on their way to an easy victory early on as the Drexel defense was unable to slow down the visitor's offense. Britt Woodfield and Nikki Marcinik each scored two goals in a game-opening 6-0 run. It was the second straight game the Dragons surrendered the game's first six goals. Bradley was finally able to get Drexel on the board with 14:34 remaining in the first half as the senior converted a free-position shot but just 14 seconds later Fratzke scored her first of the game. Less than a minute later Becca Drylie-Perkins (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) battled her way in front of the cage and fired a shot past Towson goalie Mandy Corrie to bring the Dragons to within five. There would be no more scoring the rest of half as Towson took its lead to intermission.
Immediately after halftime the Dragons showed that the second half would be different than the first. Bradley notched two straight goals in the first four minutes of the period as Drexel drew within three goals. The Tigers seemed to put the game out of reach though as Steph Taylor scored two straight of her own before Fratzke converted a free-position shot to give Towson a six-goal advantage with 9:26 remaining in the game. Kaitlin Keegan (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) started Drexel's comeback bid with her first goal of the game with 8:20 remaining. A minute later, Sam Berger (Palmyra, N.J./Holy Cross) was fouled near midfield and on the restart was able to find Lawson alone in the offensive zone. The sophomore raced in and scored to bring Drexel to within three. With 6:04 to go, Jessica Bill (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) used a spin move in front of the cage to free herself and fire a shot past Towson substitute goalie, Casey Lean. With 4:23 on the clock Bradley notched her fourth goal and second on a free-position shot to bring Drexel to within two goals for the first time since the score was 2-0. Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year candidate, Fratzke responded to snap the Drexel four-goal streak with a goal on a pass from Jacie Kendall on a restart that gave the Tigers a three-goal lead with just 2:37 remaining. With the clock winding down it appeared to be too late for Drexel until Lawson stepped up for the Dragons. She converted a free-position shot with 30 seconds to go then raced in just 14 seconds later to score her third of the game to bring Drexel to within a goal with 16 seconds to go. On the ensuing draw control, Fratzke was able to control the ball and raced to the offensive end where she ran out the clock as No. 20 Towson escaped with the 11-10 win.
Draw controls helped the Tigers to victory as Towson won 16 of the game's 22 draws with Fratzke earning six. Drexel led in most of the other statistical categories with the Dragons having a 23-21 edge in shots, a 21-18 advantage in groundballs and a 7-3 edge in saves. In addition to her four goals, Bradley added three groundballs and two caused turnovers. Jessica Bill totaled a game-high three caused turnovers. On defense for the Dragons, Kimberly Kabernagel (Levittown, Pa./Conwell Egan) led the way with four groundballs.
The Dragons will continue their Colonial Athletic Association schedule with as William & Mary visits Vidas Field on Friday, April 11. Game time is 4:00 p.m.
Scoring Summary
D 2-8-10
T 7-4-11
Individual Scoring
Drexel: Katie Bradley 4-0, Katie Lawson 3-0, Kaitlin Keegan 1-1, Jessica Bill 1-0, Becca Drylie-Perkins 1-0, Sam Berger 0-1. Saves: Lauren LaBella 7.
Towson: Hillary Fratzke 3-2, Britt Woodfield 2-2, Jacie Kendall 1-2, Nikki Marcinik 2-0, Steph Taylor 2-0, Cassie Krause 1-0. Saves: Mandy Corrie 2, Casey Lean 1.
Shots: D 23, T 21
Groundballs: D 21, T 18
Draw Controls: T 16, D 6
Free-position shots: D 3-4, T 4-4
