Women's Lacrosse Never Trails in 15-5 Win at Fresno State

Wednesday, March 23

Fresno, Calif.

8:00 p.m. EST

Drexel University

6-2, 0-0CAA

Fresno State

3-6, 0-3MPSF

Drexel

Fresno State

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Lacrosse Never Trails in 15-5 Win at Fresno State

3/23/2016 10:11:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

FRESNO, Calif. – After playing five of their first seven games at Vidas Field, the Drexel women's lacrosse team could not be much further from home this week as the Dragons make their first trip across the country to take on teams from California. That did not faze them on Wednesday evening, however, as the Dragons led the entire way in their first-ever meeting with Fresno State en route to a 15-5 victory.

The Dragons' 15 goals marked their most of the season, and their most since an 18-8 victory over Longwood on Mar. 14, 2012. Drexel was playing its first game in two weeks, having last played on Mar. 9 against UMBC.

Devin Nihill scored four goals, her third game this year with at least four goals. She now has 18 on the season, a team high. Nihill was one of five Dragons to net multiple goals in the victory over the Bulldogs. Nadia Pelham-Lacey scored twice and had four assists for a game-high six points. Her 33 points leads the team. Caroline Thiele scored twice and added an assist, while Emily Duffey had a pair of goals as did Maggie Stetson. Lauren Gerrie, Lacey Aghazarian and Alex Beilman also scored for the Dragons (6-2).

Carlee Ries had five saves while allowing just five goals. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 25 times, seven of which were forced by Drexel defenders. Alyssa Kalitz and Eva Winiarski each forced a pair of Fresno State turnovers, with Winiarski adding five ground balls and two draw controls. Fresno State won 13 of 22 draw controls on the evening, but was unable to maintain possession after gaining it.

The Dragons needed just 20 seconds to get on the board for the first time, as Nadia Pelham-Lacey handed out her first assist of the evening to feed Lauren Gerrie for her 11th goal of the season. After the Bulldogs quickly knotted the score, Drexel took the lead back just over a minute later when Devin Nihill scored the first of two back-to-back goals that gave the Dragons a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Fresno State and Drexel traded goals until the Dragons led 4-3 with 19:47 remaining in the first half. After a five-minute scoreless drought on both sides, Pelham-Lacey scored her first of the evening and 14th of the year to put the Dragons back up by two. That score started a six-goal Drexel run that kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for nearly 26 minutes of game time, until a Ryleigh Bone goal with 24:08 remaining in the second half made it a 10-4 game.

That run by the Dragons created some distance between themselves and the Bulldogs, but another one put the game away for good. After Fresno State scored two straight to cut the deficit to 10-5 with more than 23 minutes to play, Caroline Thiele found Alex Beilman six minutes later, her sixth goal of the year to make it an 11-5 game with 17:15 remaining. Beilman's goal sparked a 5-goal game-ending run for the Dragons, who ultimately held the Bulldogs to just two goals over the game's final 49:47.

With one win under their belts in California, the Dragons will remain in the Golden State for their next outing, at UC Davis on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. This pair of games starts a six-game road stretch for the Dragons, who will conclude non-conference play at Penn State on Mar. 30.