Archive: March, 2012
PHILADELPHIA – Baked by 20 points from senior guard Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) and a career-high 19 rebounds from senior forward Kelly Cavallo (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Westhampton Beach), the Saint Joseph’s women’s basketball team downed Boston University, 67-56, in the WNIT First Round Thursday evening at Hagan Arena.
The Hawks (22-10) will now host VCU this Sunday at 2 p.m. This marks the third-straight year Saint Joseph’s has faced the Rams in the WNIT.
PHILADELPHIA – Averaging 20.7 points per game over three contests, Saint Joseph’s senior guard Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) was selected to the 2012 Buick Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team.
Helping the Hawks to the semifinals of the A-10 postseason tournament, Baker shot 60.9 percent from the field (28-of-46) and averaged 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Saint Joseph’s co-captain started the tournament off on the right foot, posting 20 points against Fordham in the first round, and follow with another 20-point performance in the Hawks win over Richmond. Playing 33.7 minutes per game during the tournament, Baker saved her best game for the last, posting a season-best 22 points against top-seeded No. 19/22 St. Bonaventure.
PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel men's lacrosse team fell to No. 8 Notre Dame on Saturday at Vidas Field, 6-5. The Dragons (1-3) had the ball and a man-up opportunity with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter, but could not get off a shot as an intense, rugged defensive game closed with Notre Dame swarming the Drexel offense as it closed in on the net. Aaron Prosser scored twice for Drexel, which took an early 2-0 lead.
The Dragons led 2-1 at the half before a four-goal third quarter by the Irish (2-1) gave Notre Dame control of the game. Drexel would knot the game at five momentarily in the fourth quarter, but could not take another lead.
Drexel lit up the scoreboard first less than two minutes into the game. Playing a man up thanks to a one-minute slashing penalty by Notre Dame's Conor Doyle, Drexel methodically worked the ball around the cage to open the man-up opportunity before Brendan Glynn found Ben McIntosh in front to rip in the game's first score. It was the first of two assists for Glynn on the day, and the second goal of the season for McIntosh.
Deven Thomas had a good start to the day in the faceoff circle, going up against Notre Dame's Liam O'Connor, one of the better faceoff men in the country. Thomas wound up winning nine of 15 faceoffs on the afternoon, including the first two of the day. The second, following McIntosh's goal, would eventually lead to the Dragons taking a 2-0 lead with 7:00 to play in the first quarter, when Ryan Belka served up Clifton Simeon for his first goal of the season.
Notre Dame would notch the only goal of the second quarter, getting on the board with 12:23 to play in the first half. The teams could not get anything to find the back of the net the rest of the half.
The Irish put together the only scoring flurry of the afternoon in the third quarter, when they scored three straight goals to start the period and take a 4-2 lead. Prosser got Drexel back on the board with 3:33 to go in the third, pulling Drexel back within a goal as Kevin Stockel fed him out front.
After Tyler Kimball put Notre Dame back up by two late in the third, Drexel opened the fourth quarter with two goals to even the score at five. Prosser got the first of those goals with 13:09 to play in the fourth, his second of the day off Brendan Glynn's second assist. Minutes later, Robert Church evened things up off a feed from behind the net by Kyle Bergman.
Less than ninety seconds later, Notre Dame regained the lead when Sean Rogers fired just over Drexel goalie Mark Manos' shoulder, hitting the post and getting a fortunate bounce into the net. The Dragons had several breaks go against them on Saturday afternoon, as they hit three posts on their offensive end only to see the deciding goal hit a post and bounce the Irish's way late.
Manos finished with five saves, including several point-blank, impressive stops in holding Notre Dame to just one score in the first half.
Thomas won control back for Drexel after the Dragons fell behind, and with just over a minute to play, Drexel went up a man when Devon Dobson was called for pushing, a 30-second penalty. They worked the ball around, but despite the extra man could not find an opening in the stingy Notre Dame defense. With the penalty over and time winding down, Drexel forced the action in close to the net, but lost control of the ball as the Irish scooped it up and preserved the victory.
The Dragons will return to the field on Tuesday, when they visit crosstown rival Saint Joseph's at 4:00 p.m.
Binghamton, N.Y. – Drexel qualified three for the NCAA tournament with two second-place finishes, a third-place and a fourth-place finish at the CAA championships hosted this year by Binghamton. Junior Joe Booth finished third at 165 while sophomore Brandon Palik, 197, and senior Kyle Frey, heavy weight, both finished second. Austin Sommer, 157 pounds, finished 2-2 on the day to claim fourth place.
Drexel advanced six wrestlers through the first round as senior Alex Rinaldi, 174 pounds, junior Frank Cimato, 141 pounds, and Sommer all picked up wins. Cimato, the No. 2 seed, picked up a 10-4 decision over Vinny Fava of Rider before being narrowly edged 6-5 by Old Dominion's Justin LaValle. Shane Fenningham, 149 pounds, dropped his first match but picked up a win in the consolation bracket with a 7-4 decision over Kevin Timothy of George Mason.
Sommer picked up his team-leading sixth win by fall when he pinned Ramon Santiago of Rider at 4:30 in the second period. The third-seeded sophomore then dropped a match to John Nicholson of Old Dominion before advancing to the third-place match due to a medical forfeit. Sommer finished fourth after Santiago used a 10-5 decision to take third.
Booth went 3-1 on the day losing only a 3-1 decision to Tristan Warner of Old Dominion. The No. 1 seeded junior outscored his opponents 22-10 on his way to a third-place finish and his third straight NCAA qualification. Rinaldi went 1-2 on the day at 174 pounds upsetting the No. 4 seeded Caleb Wallace of Binghamton to advance in the championship bracket.
Palik, seeded third at 197, rattled off two straight beating Rider's Donald McNeil 3-1 and upsetting Boston's No. 2 seed John Hall 8-1. Palik faced the No. 1 seeded Bagna Tovuujav of George Mason in the championship match and fell 3-1 to take runner-up.
Frey, the No.1 seed at heavy weight, also picked up a second-place finish to seal one of four bids for the NCAA tournament. In three tightly contested matches Frey picked up two straight with a 3-2 decision over Matt Tourdot of Old Dominion and a 2-1 decision over No. 4 Paul Snyder of Hofstra. In the championship match Frey and Nick Gwiazdowski of Binghamton grappled to a 3-1 final in favor of the host Bearcat.
The NCAA Championships take place on March 15 through 17 held this year in St. Louis, Mo.
Make sure to follow @DrexelDragons and @DrexelWrestling on Twitter for up to date results.
Hamilton, N.Y. – The Drexel women's lacrosse team scored eight unanswered goals in the second half to earn the program's first victory over the Colgate Raiders, 12-6, on Saturday afternoon at Tyler's Field. The Dragons had 24 shots to Colgate's 16 and held a 13-6 advantage in draw controls. Senior attacker Charlotte Wood led the team with five goals and helped the Dragons overcome a 4-4 tie at half. The win ended Drexel's two-game losing streak and improved its overall record to 3-2, while the Raiders dropped to 0-4 on the season.
Drexel's Lindsey Kovar set a new season-high with three assists and six points. She also tied her season-best with three goals and two caused turnovers. Kovar went 2-4 in free position attempts.
Colgate's Alison Flood took advantage of an early Drexel foul and scored a free position goal to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead with just under three minutes into the contest. At 16:01, Monica White scored off a pass from teammate Amanda O'Sullivan to extend the lead to two, 2-0. Drexel's Kristin Kopenhaver won the following draw control and advanced down the field causing two Colgate fouls. Lindsey Kovar scored an unassisted goal cutting the lead in half, 2-1. The Raiders' Courtney Miller scored two minutes later, but Kovar answered back with a free positiong goal, 3-2.
With 10:27 remaining in the first half, Charlotte Wood tied the game from Kovar's pass, 3-3. Kovar looked to score a free position goal, but hit the post. Colgate put pressure on the Dragons' attack and recovered the ball. The Raiders' Courtney Miller followed with a successful free position attempt to take back the lead, 4-3. Kovar found Wood again for quick goal before the first half expired, 4-4.
The Dragons opened up the second half with eight unanswered goals to hold off the Raiders until the clock expired. Sophomore Amanda Norcini started the rally after scoring a free position goal. During Drexel's eight-goal run, Wood had three back-to-back goals in the second half and finished with five on the day. Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Santandrea recorded the win. She made four saves and now has 22 overall. Santandrea also set a new season-high with three ground balls.
The Drexel women's lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. on the Dragon's home turf at Vidas Field.
Philadelphia – With just three games into the 2012 season, the Drexel women's lacrosse team falls to Hofstra, 15-9, in an early conference match-up held at Vidas Field on Thursday night. The Pride held a slim 27-24 advantage in shots, but their 10 second-half goals was enough to secure the win. Drexel's Alyse Maiden tied her season-high with four goals and six total points. Drexel dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Hofstra's Jill Maier won the opening draw control and powered down the field. She scored an unassisted goal with just under a minute into the first half. The Pride went on a four-goal rally, but Drexel's Kristin Kopenhaver won the next draw control and looked to score the Dragon's first goal, but hit the post. Alyse Maiden finished the play with an unassisted goal. With 15:21 remaining in the first, Maiden followed with a free position goal to bring the game to two, 4-2.
Following a Hofstra clear, Brittain Altomare scored from teammate Maryann Miller's pass. Drexel continued to pressure on the Pride. With four seconds left in the first half, junior midfielder Kelli Joran scored off of a pass from Charlotte Wood. The visiting Pride led by two, 5-3, at half.
Maiden opened up the second half with her second free position goal to bring the game within one, 5-4. Hofstra's had back-to-back goals to extend the lead to three. Charlotte Wood received a pass from Maiden for a quick goal, 7-5. The Dragons were unable to pull ahead despite putting six points on the board in the second half. Hofstra's three-goal spurt in the final five minutes of play helped the Pride edge Drexel, 15-9.
Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Santandrea made a pair of saves in the opening 27:17 of the game. Freshman Teresha Bradley set a new season-high with four saves. Bradley now has 10 saves on the season. Hofstra's Jaclyn Pandolf made seven saves for the win.
The Drexel women's lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday, March 3 at 1:00 p.m. against Colgate. This marks the first away game of the 2012 season.
PHILADELPHIA – Saint Joseph’s senior guard Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) posted her third-straight game with 20 points, but it wasn’t as the Hawks couldn’t pull the upset over top seed seed #19/22 St. Bonaventure, 78-52, in the semifinals of the 2012 Buick Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship Sunday afternoon at Hagan Arena. Baker posted a season-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor and 4-5 shooting from the foul line while adding a team-high three assists.
Down 33-20 at the start of the second half, Saint Joseph’s (20-10) would go on a 6-0 run fueled by Baker and junior guard Ashley Prim (Ansonia, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) to tighten the deficit to seven at 18:24.
PHILADELPHIA – Senior guard Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) posted her second consecutive 20-point game as fifth seed Saint Joseph’s eliminated fourth seed Richmond, 69-57, in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Buick A-10 Women’s Basketball Championship on Saturday afternoon at Hagan Arena. Baker led all scorers on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and 2-for-3 shooting from the foul line.
With the win, Saint Joseph’s (21-9) will face against top-seed #19/22 St. Bonaventure (28-2) in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00pm.
Baker Leads Saint Joseph's Women's Basketball Past Fordham in Atlantic 10 Championship Opener, 63-52
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's A-10 All-Conference Second Team selection Michelle Baker led all scorers with 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting to lead #5 Saint Joseph's over #12 Fordham, 63-52, in the opening round of the 2012 Buick Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship on Friday afternoon at Hagan Arena.
With the win, Saint Joseph's (20-9) advances to the quarterfinals to face off against fourth-seeded Richmond Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30pm.
