Allison Drake was the hero in a thrilling Colonial Athletic Association Final to give Philadelphia it’s fourth Championship of the weekend.
Hold that thought, their would be a fifth but, will get to that in the next recap. The Lady Dragons (12-7) withstood a comeback from the Towson Lady Tigers (9-8) with a 11-10 extra time marker.
Kevin M. Neibauer
LaxPhilly– A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
How it Happened:
Drexel came out breathing fire with Karson Harris (2g), Hayleigh Simpson (2g), Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Lucy Schneidereith (4g) netting her 39th and 40th of the campaign.
Towson, despite being down four goals in just five and a half minutes, went to work and were rewarded when Blair Pearre (1g) followed by a pair from Kerri Liucci (2g) with her 14th and 15th. Schneidereith stopped the run.
End of First, 5-3 Drexel.
To the Second:
Karson Harris set her own person season high with her 62nd goal on the advantage. Following the pattern of the previous quarter, Simpson potted her 21st. Allison Drake made it four straight for Drexel with Lindsay Clarke (1g,1a) ending the run and the half.
End of the Half, 8-4 Drexel.
Third Stanza:
The momentum shifted to the Towson way as they kicked off their comeback with Halley Koras (3g), and Milana Zizakovic (2g) snagging her 20th. Colleen Grady (1g,4a) stemmed the tide but Koras completed her quarter hat trick with net benders at 4:18 and 2:34 for her 5th Hat trick of the season. Grady set up Schneidereith with :07 on the clock.
End of Three Quarters, Drexel Still I’m Front, 10-8.
Fourth Quarter:
Can Towson pull it off? They had a great start by shutting out the Dragons but fell one goal shy when Zizakovic (21st) at 9:40 followed by Kerri Thornton (1g,1) with just 2:31 remaining. Drexel was able to tame the Tigers to take it to extra time.
End of Regulation, Even Steven, 10-10.
Annnd We Have a Champion
Drexel would win the opening draw with Towson being flagged for Delay of Game. The result would be Grady’s biggest helper of the season when she found Drake for the game and Conference Winner.
News and Notes:
• The victory marked the first ever Conference Championship for Drexel and the second straight NCAA Championship appearance.
• Shots favored the Dragons, 32-31 with the Tigers putting two more on net, 24-22. Carly Merlo stopped 11shots in her 60:47 for Towson with Zoe Bennett falling one short of her season high with 14.
• Drexel had 14 Turnovers to the 10 for the Tigers.
• Ground balls had a slight edge for Towson, 19-16. Draw Controls had Drexel with the edge, 18-7 led by Corinne Bednarik and her 7 with Harris coming away with a half dozen.
• Drexel matches up with Stony Brook in the opener of the NCAA Big Dance. Game time is set for 3PM EDT, Friday May 13 at Stony Brook, NY.
Another Philadelphia Champion is Crowned.
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
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