Aug. 29, 2007

Box Score

Drexel's Carolina Gibernau scored on a penalty shot 2:52 into overtime, as the Dragons handed La Salle their first loss of the season on Wednesday afternoon, 3-2.

Kara Harpel and Beth Carey scored goals for the Explorers (2-1).

Battling the heat, the teams played to a 0-0 draw in the first half. The Dragons outshot La Salle in the opening frame, 6-1, but the stingy Explorer defense was able to keep the Drexel offense in check. Axelsen denied Drexel on multiple opportunities and finished with six first-half saves. Rachel Deaner and Jess Menge played solid defense to preserve the tie going into intermission.

Drexel finally broke the scoreless tie about seven minutes into the second half. Emily Horvat's corner was deflected to Susan Ciufo, who fired it past Axelsen to give the Dragons a 1-0 advantage.

The goal was the first allowed by Axelsen this season.

The Drexel lead was short lived, as La Salle answered when Kara Harpel pushed a shot past Dragon goalkeeper Colleen McAndrew to knot the score at 1-1.

The seesaw battle continued when Drexel's Amanda Kicera connected with Ciufo for her second score of the game with 10 minutes to play in regulation.

Not to be denied, the determined Explorers' offensive attack responded just 57 seconds later. La Salle drove down the field and Carey capped off the attack with her second goal of the season.

After a frantic end to regulation, the teams entered the overtime period with the score tied 2-2.

La Salle appeared to have a chance to win the game in the opening minutes of OT, but the Drexel defense tightened and killed the Explorer momentum.

Moments later, Axelsen stepped up to challenge the streaking Gibernau and the two players collided, setting up the penalty stroke.

The Drexel sophomore was able to sneak the shot past the sprawling Axelsen to give the Dragons a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

For the game, Drexel outshot the Explorers 17-6. Axelsen finished with eight saves on the day.

La Salle looks to rebound from the tough loss this weekend when they head to the Big Apple for the Hofstra Invitational. The Explorers take of Hofstra this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and clash with Sacred Heart on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.