PHILADELPHIA- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team (2-3) held an early lead but couldn't keep pace with the Drexel University (3-1) attack on Wednesday, eventually falling to the host Dragons 11-6.

The Hawks took a 4-3 lead on Kate Ryan's (Morton, PA/Sprinfield) first goal of the half but Drexel answered with two goals right before the break to take a 5-4 lead into halftime. The Dragons scored four unanswered goals in the first 11 minutes of the second half to push their advantage to 9-4 before Ryan's second goal stopped the run with 11:30 to play. Drexel scored a pair of goals over a three minute span, then kept MU off the scoreboard for the final 7:22 to claim the 11-5 victory.

"Our overall performance today was disappointing,” said Monmouth coach Eileen Ghent. “We have had great days of practice recently, but today didn't show that. We struggled with draw controls and overall possession of the ball. Drexel was able to dictate the pace of the game well. I am confident this team can be resilient and turn it around for Saturday."

Ryan and fellow sophomore Caroline Corbliss (Marriottsville, MD/Marriotts Ridge) each had two goals for Monmouth with Marial Pierce (Middleburg, VA/St. John's Catholic Prep) scoring the other Hawk marker. Goaltender Caroline Huelster (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) made nine saves for the Blue & White.

Drexel's Devin Nihill and Nadia Pelham-Lacey led all players with five points. Nihill scored five goals while Pelham-Lacey's points came on two goals and three assists. Drexel goaltender Carlee Ries made seven saves in the contest.

DU held a 28-17 advantage in shots, including a 16-6 margin in the second half. The Dragons also dominated the draw control winning 12 of the 18 and seven of eight in the second half. The two teams combined for 42 turnovers, including 22 for the Hawks.

Monmouth returns home on Saturday morning to host George Washington at 11 a.m. at Monmouth Stadium.