Drexel Defeats Monmouth to Clinch the No.3 Seed in the CAA Tournament

Saturday, April 29

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:00 p.m.

Drexel University

12-4, 5-2CAA

Monmouth

9-8, 3-4CAA

Monmouth

Drexel

Drexel Defeats Monmouth to Clinch the No.3 Seed in the CAA Tournament

4/29/2023 4:09:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

The Dragons are the Defending 2022 CAA Champions

PHILADELPHIA – Drexel's defense held Monmouth to three goals in the second half as they clinched their spot in the CAA Championships in a hard-fought 19-14 victory over the Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Vidas Field. DU will be the third seed in the CAA Championships at Towson. Drexel is set to face No. 2 Towson at 2:30 pm on Thursday, May 4 at Tiger Field. The Dragons close the regular season with a 12-4 overall record and 5-2 in conference play. Drexel will appear in the CAA Semifinals in its third consecutive season for the first time since three consecutive appearances from 2011-13.

Prior to the start of the game, Drexel honored its eight graduating seniors including Callan Fritsch, Lindsey Dean, Hayleigh Simpson, Maura Cissel, Saundra Godshall, Grace Harding, Peighton Bement, Hannah Close.

BY THE NUMBERS

Bednarik earned six tallies, five draw controls, and two ground balls.
Bednarik, Grace Harding and Alex Wall each scored at least four goals.
Cuocco found 12 saves and one ground ball.
DU was 18-20 on defensive clears and won the ground ball battle over MU, 18-9
Bement anchored the defense as she caused four turnovers and picked up four ground balls.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Simpson and Bednarik started the Dragons off strong with goals in the opening two minutes. The Hawks answered back with a score before Lindsey Dean found the back of the net to give DU a 3-1 lead. Bednarik earned two more goals in the quarter and MU slipped three tallies past the Dragons as the first frame ended in a 6-5 advantage for Drexel.
Monmouth took their first lead with two goals early in the second quarter. Alex Wall answered back to even the game at seven. The teams went wire-to-wire as the contest was tied at ten with 27 seconds left after Harding scored. The Hawks were able to take a one-goal lead into halftime as they scored with 19 seconds left.
The Dragons came out firing in the second half as they earned six consecutive goals and held MU scoreless for all but five seconds of the quarter. Bednarik, Harding (2), Simpson, Fowler, and Wall all helped the team to a 16-12 lead into the final period.
The Drexel defense held the Hawks to one goal in the final fifteen minutes and caused three turnovers en route to victory.

UP NEXT
Drexel battles Towson in the CAA Championships on Thursday, May 4 from Tiger Field. The opening draw on LacrosseTV will be at 2:30 p.m.