PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel women's lacrosse team got two goals from senior Kelly Palace, but could not overcome an early 5-0 deficit as the Dragons fell at Villanova, 9-5. The Dragons were held scoreless for the first 29:58 of play before getting on the board with two seconds remaining in the first half.<br /> <br /> The Dragons (2-3) won just one of the first six draw controls of the game, giving the Wildcats extra opportunities to build up their 5-0 lead. Just before halftime, though, senior Amanda Norcini drew a foul and earned a free position shot, converting to put Drexel on the board.<br /> <br /> Villanova extended its lead to 7-1 over the first eight minutes of the second half before the Drexel comeback effort got going in earnest. Palace notched her first goal of the day with 18:45 remaining, taking a feed from Joelle Hartke and beating Villanova goalie Jaclyn Fraum.<br /> <br /> After the Wildcats scored one more to make it 8-2, Drexel tallied a flurry of goals to make Villanova uncomfortable in the closing minutes of play. It began when draw control specialist Milan White got a free position look and made it count with 7:52 to play. Just 23 seconds later, Caroline Thiele scored her third goal of the season, unassisted, to make it an 8-4 game.<br /> <br /> Villanova held Drexel at bay for the next three minutes, but Palace notched another free position goal with 3:15 remaining, pulling the Dragons within three. The goal was the team-leading tenth of the season for Palace, leaving her tied with Andi Raymond of Towson for second in the Colonial Athletic Association.<br /> <br /> That would be as much as Drexel could muster, as the Wildcats added a late goal to cap off the victory. Drexel will now return home for the first time in March as they host UMBC on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
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