WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 17, 2009) -- The William and Mary lacrosse team utilized a 7-0 run to start the second half to earn a convincing 18-12 victory against Drexel on Friday evening at Albert-Daly Field. With the triumph, the Tribe extends its winning streak to three games and remains in a tie atop the conference standings with a 4-1 mark.

Sophomore Ashley Holofcener led the Tribe (8-6, 4-1) with a team-high five goals, while classmate Maggie Anderson registered a game-high six points on four goals and two assists. Junior Katie Rees and sophomore Grace Golden also totaled two goals and an assist apiece, while Rees added six ground balls, five draw controls and a caused turnover.

As a team, the Tribe held commanding advantages in shots (43-27) and ground balls (35-25), while it owned a narrow edge in draw controls (17-15).

While Drexel (7-7, 0-5) tallied the contest's initial goal a little more than a minute into play, the Green and Gold responded with three unanswered scores to lead 3-1 with 20:44 showing. An unassisted goal by Rees evened the count at 1-1, while Holofcener registered the next two scores to put W&M ahead.

DU closed the gap to just one when Charlotte Wood found the back of the cage with 18:11 on the clock, but the Tribe countered with goals by Anderson and Golden to push the lead to 5-2 midway through the half.

The Dragons gradually chipped away at the College's lead and drew within just one, 6-5, following Katie Lawson's score with 1:39 remaining in the half. However, Holofcener earned her third goal of the contest with just 32 seconds left in the stanza to give the Tribe some momentum and a 7-5 advantage at the half.

Despite the close score, W&M dominated the shots (26-12) and ground balls (19-11) in the opening period. However, Drexel keeper Lauren LaBella posted 13 saves.

Golden provided the initial goal of the second half when she found the cage a little less than five minutes into the frame. Soon thereafter, W&M broke the contest open with six unanswered goals during a span of just 3:01 to build a comfortable 14-5 advantage with 18:16 to play. Holofcener ignited the run off a feed from senior Clare Dennis on a fast break with 21:17 showing, while sophomore Molly Wannen registered a score off a Dennis pass just 34 second later.

Dennis tallied her third point of the stretch less than a minute later when she scored off an assist from Anderson on a free position opportunity. Anderson then tallied back-to-back goals, while Holofcener punctuated the run off a feed from junior Mary Zulty. The Tribe won four of five draw controls during the stretch.

Zulty, Rees, junior Katie Delaney and freshman Stephanie Steinweg all added goals for the College down the stretch, as the Dragons were unable to get closer than five the rest of the way. Steinweg's score was her first career goal, while Delaney earned her first goal of the season.

The Tribe will wrap up its regular season home slate when it hosts No. 20 Hofstra for Senior Day on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Prior to the contest, W&M's six-member senior class will be honored.

2009-04-18