Women's Lacrosse Scores Second Straight Road Win, 6-4 at Delaware

Friday, April 15

Newark, Del.

6:00 p.m.

Drexel University

2-19-4 | CAA

Delaware

0-38-6 | CAA

Drexel

Delaware

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Lacrosse Scores Second Straight Road Win, 6-4 at Delaware

4/15/2016 8:33:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. – A game of runs saw the Drexel women's lacrosse team come up with perhaps its biggest victory of the season to date as the Dragons scored the final two goals of the game and held the host Delaware Blue Hens scoreless for the final 20:34 of play as Drexel won in Newark for the first time since 2012, 6-4. Nadia Pelham-Lacey netted a hat trick and Devin Nihill scored twice for the Dragons, who once again benefited from an outstanding defensive effort to slow a Delaware team that was receiving votes in the IWLCA poll.

The Dragons (9-4, 2-1) were playing their final road game of the season and the last game of a six-game road swing. Drexel went 4-2 during the trip including wins in its last two games, key Colonial Athletic Association road victories at William & Mary and Delaware.

Drexel scored the first four goals of the game, keeping Delaware off the scoreboard until the 5:31 mark of the first half. The Blue Hens scored all of their goals in a stretch of just 14:57 as a 4-1 halftime lead quickly evaporated over the first nine-plus minutes of the second half. With the game knotted at four, the Dragons turned to team points leader Pelham-Lacey, who scored a pair of goals down the stretch to give Drexel the edge.

Carlee Ries made six saves in goal for the Dragons, who held a CAA opponent to four goals for the first time since an 8-4 win over Old Dominion on Apr. 7, 2013. Drexel won just four of the game's 12 draw controls and caused only two turnovers, but picked up eight ground balls and limited the Blue Hens to just 15 total shots. Seven players recorded at least one ground ball for Drexel with Ries adding a second. Milan White won three of Drexel's four draws on the afternoon.

Nihill got the scoring started just two minutes into the action as Emily Duffey dished the assist out to the Dragons' leading goal scorer. It would be nearly 10 minutes before the Dragons found the back of the net again. Then, it was Aghazarian's turn to score her 17th of the year, a free position goal that made it a 2-0 Drexel lead.

Pelham-Lacey scored her first of the contest with 14:10 remaining in the first half, and Nihill scored again with 7:22 remaining to make it a 4-0 Drexel lead. Caroline Thiele assisted on Nihill's second goal, an assist to go along with a caused turnover for the junior.

Delaware finally lit up the scoreboard with 5:31 remaining in the first half when Kara Dattellas took a pass from Casey Lyons and converted her 13th of the year. Though neither team could score before the intermission, the Blue Hens had stalled Drexel's momentum and gained a little of their own, which they were able to capitalize on coming out of the break.

It took Delaware just 1:28 of the second half to score a second goal, the first of two from Shannon Hawley. Hawley's second of the afternoon came with 21:56 remaining, and the Blue Hens tied it up just 1:22 later.

Delaware had erased a 4-0 lead in just under 15 minutes of game time, and had the home crowd behind it as the Blue Hens looked to end a frustrating four-game losing skid. Prior to Friday's game with the Dragons, Delaware had lost four in a row, each game by just one goal.

Milan White won a critical draw control for the Dragons following the Delaware tying goal. After the teams traded turnovers, Drexel brought the ball upfield and got it to Pelham-Lacey, who was fouled in the circle and made the most of her free position opportunity to put Drexel back in the lead with 15:46 remaining.

Delaware won the ensuing draw, and Ries went to work. Three of her six saves came over the next eight minutes as the Blue Hens peppered Drexel's junior goalkeeper, who came up big each time. Following her third save, a Delaware foul gave the ball back to Drexel, which once again fed Pelham-Lacey for her 25th of the year with 3:34 to play.

The Blue Hens were able to create chances for themselves over the game's final minutes. Delaware got a pair of free positions and took shots on both. One actually managed to beat Ries but caromed off the pipe, a break for Drexel, and the other was blocked by a charging Drexel defender. Ries made a final save with 1:19 to play and Alyssa Kalitz picked up the ground ball to give the Dragons possession and a big win.

With their road trek behind them, the Dragons will now enjoy an extended stay at home. Drexel will host Towson on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Vidas Field to begin a regular-season ending three-game homestand. The Dragons, who currently are tied with No. 17 Towson for the most overall wins in the CAA and sit in third place in the league standings, will also play host to the CAA Tournament on May 6-8.