TOWSON, Md. ? Junior midfielder Nikki Marcinik scored a career-high seven goals and also added an assist as the Tigers (8-5, 2-2) celebrated Senior Day with their second straight win, a 17-12 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Drexel University (7-6, 0-4) at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Marcinik, who also became the 20th player in school history to reach 100 career points, recorded the first seven-goal game by a Tiger player since Shannon Witzel, '07 had seven goals against Delaware on March 24, 2006.
“We worked really hard on shooting during practice this week,” Marcinik said. “It was great for us to rebound after losing our first two CAA games to win both of the games this weekend. The senior class has really set a tradition of winning in this program and we wanted to send them out with a victory.”
The Dragons jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the first half when junior attacker Becca Drylie-Perkins and junior midfielder Katie Lawson scored back-to-back goals in a 24-second span.
However, the Tigers responded by scoring seven straight goals to take a commanding 7-2 lead with 16:46 remaining in the half. One of five players who were honored on Senior Day, senior midfielder Britt Woodfield scored two goals during the run.
But, the Dragons scored the final four goals of the first half, including a pair by Lawson, to narrow the margin 7-6 at the intermission.
Led by Marcinik, the Tigers started the second half by scoring six unanswered goals, extending their advantage to 13-6 with 20:36 remaining. Marcinik had three goals and an assist during the run while senior attacker Meggie McNamara added a goal with an assist.
After Drexel scored three goals in a row to move within 13-9 with 13:42 left, Marcinik tallied back-to-back markers, upping the Towson cushion to 15-9.
Drylie-Perkins scored on a free-position shot with 7:44 remaining in the second half before Marcinik and sophomore midfielder Ali Lathroum scored consecutive goals for a 17-10 lead.
The Dragons added two goals in the final 25 seconds, but Drexel was unable to get any closer.
While Marcinik led the Tigers with a career-high eight points, Woodfield scored three goals with one assist. McNamara, who leads the CAA with 28 assists in 13 games, had three assists in addition to scoring a goal.
Lawson led the Dragons with four goals in a losing effort while Drylie-Perkins scored twice and contributed an assist.
The Tigers outshot Drexel by a 32-24 margin and converted a season-high six of nine free-position opportunities.
Prior to the game, the Tigers honored their senior class on the occasion of their final home game at Unitas Stadium. In addition to Woodfield and McNamara, midfielder Cassie Krause tied a career high with two goals while defender Julie Ondrako had four ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Making the first start of her college career, redshirt junior goalkeeper Casey Lean made two saves in 23 minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Mary Teeters played the final 37 minutes and had five saves.
The Tigers, who played their ninth and final home game of the season, will end the regular season with a three-game road trip, which starts on Friday night against George Mason at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Drexel will continue its three-game road trip on Friday night at William & Mary at 7 p.m.
College Women's Lacrosse: Towson University 17, Drexel University 12
Drexel (7-6, 0-4) 6-6 / 12
Towson (8-5, 2-2) 7-10 / 17
Goals: DREX ? Katie Lawson 4, Becca Drylie-Perkins 2, Charlotte Wood 2, Kimberly Kabernagel 1, Danielle Iacono 1, Ali Allen 1, Amanda Gregg 1; TOW ? Nikki Marcinik 7, Britt Woodfield 3, Cassie Krause 2, Meggie McNamara 1, Jacie Kendall 1, Steph Taylor 1, Ali Lathroum 1, Lauren McAfee 1. Assists: DREX ? Becca Drylie-Perkins 1, Josie Haller 1, Kimberly Kabernagel 1; TOW ? Meggie McNamara 3, Jacie Kendall 1, Nikki Marcinik 1, Britt Woodfield 1. Saves: DREX ? Lauren LaBella 7 (48:33, 14 goals allowed), Whitney Johnson 0 (11:27, 3 goals allowed); TOW - Casey Lean 2 (22:54, 5 goals allowed), Mary Teeters 5 (37:06, 7 goals allowed). Shots: DREX ? 24; TOW ? 32. Free-Position Shots: DREX ? 3 for 7; TOW ? 6 for 9. Attendance: 407.
Post-Game Notes:
· Sunday's game between the Tigers and the Dragons marked the 27th all-time meeting between the two teams ... With their 16th straight win over Drexel, Towson now has a commanding 26-1 advantage in the all-time series.
· After starting the season with a 7-2 record, the Dragons have lost four straight games.
· The Tigers are now 8-1 this season when leading at the half.
· The Tigers end their home schedule with a 4-5 record ... The Tigers also had a six-game homestand during the season.
· With her eight points, Marcinik now has 83 goals and 24 assists in her career ... She becomes the fourth active player on the roster to reach the 100-point mark.
· The Tigers' 17-goal effort against the Dragons tied a season high ... They also had 17 goals in a win over Richmond on March 21 at Unitas Stadium.
· The Tigers also matched a season high with 16 caused turnovers against the Dragons ... They had 16 caused turnovers against Temple on March 11.
· Marcinik recorded her sixth “hat trick” of the season and the ninth of her career ... In two games this week, she scored 12 goals on just 14 shots ... She has now scored a goal in 15 straight games.
· With her eight-point effort against Drexel on Sunday afternoon, Marcinik joins McNamara as the only Tigers on the team with 50 points this season ... It is the first time the Tigers have had two players with 50-point seasons in the same year since the 2006 season when Witzel and Becky Trumbo, '06 each had 50 points.
· Woodfield also had her sixth “hat trick” of the season in the win over Drexel ... It was also her ninth career “hat trick.”
· Woodfield has scored a goal in eight straight games after her three-goal effort against Drexel.
· With a goal in the first half, junior attacker Jacie Kendall extended her point-scoring streak to 16 straight games ... She also has a goal in seven games in a row.
· McNamara has an assist in 13 consecutive games ... In two games this week, McNamara had three goals with seven assists ... She had a career-high four assists with two goals against Hofstra on Friday.
