PHILADELPHIA - No. 20 Penn started its 2007 season with a bang, scoring seven unanswered goals in the second half to beat neighborhood rival Drexel, 12-4, Saturday at Franklin Field.

Senior Chrissy Muller picked up where she left off last season with three goals and an assist, and freshman Ali DeLuca, playing in her first collegiate game, also picked up a hat trick and a helper.

The Quakers (1-0) snapped the Dragons' (0-1) 24-game non-conference winning streak with the win. Penn won its third straight season opener.

Junior Sarah Waxman had a fine game between the pipes, making nine saves while allowing just four goals. She also helped hold the Dragons to 0-5 on free position opportunities.

The first half was back-and-forth, with Drexel scoring first on Kerry Kelly's goal at 17:56. Becca Edwards answered four minutes later on a feed from Allison Ambrozy, and DeLuca notched her first career goal to put Penn ahead at 9:23.

Jessica Bill and Kaitlin Keegan scored for Drexel and Muller got her first to make it a 3-3 game with five minutes to go, but the Quakers weren't done. Rachel Manson scored with 1:05 left and Melissa Lehman added another on a free position shot with four seconds left in the half to send Penn into the break with a 5-3 lead.

The second half looked to be more of the same when Emily Hoesch scored just 12 seconds in, but an avalanche of Penn scoring followed.

After a 12-minute scoreless lull, DeLuca completed her hat trick with a pair of goals and Edwards kept the run going with a breakaway tally with 10 minutes left. Muller scored again with 8:31 left and Hannah Rudloff added another 30 second later. Muller completed her hat trick with 6: 48 to go, and Barb Seaman finished the scoring with her first career goal just over a minute later.

Despite the scoreline, Drexel held a 10-7 edge on draw controls, including a 7-1 advantage in the first half. Penn did not allow a goal for the final 29:48 of the game.

Penn will head to North Philadelphia Wednesday to face city rival Temple at 4:00 p.m.

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Philadelphia – Penn used a 7-0 run to the end the game to defeat Drexel, 12-4, in the season-opening women's lacrosse game held at Franklin Field. The loss snapped Drexel's 24-game non-conference winning streak. Kerry Kelly (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) scored one goal and handed out two assists to lead the Dragons (0-1) while Chrissy Muller and Ali DeLuca each contributed three goals and an assist for the Quakers (1-0).

Drexel won the eight of game's first nine draw controls as the game remained close throughout the first half. The game started slowly as Drexel scored the first goal over 12 minutes into the game as Kelly took a Katie Bradley (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) pass in front and beat Penn goalie Sarah Waxman to give the Dragons an early lead. Penn scored the next two goals before Jessica Bill (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) scored in transition to knot the game at 2-2. Penn responded by scoring three of the next four goals as the game headed to halftime with the Quakers ahead, 5-3.

Coming out of halftime, the Dragons won the opening draw and wasted little time as Emily Hoesch (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) scored on a Kelly pass to pull the Dragons within one. It would be the last goal of the game for Drexel, however, as Penn won six of the next eight draws and broke the game open. DeLuca and Muller each tallied two goals in Penn's 7-0 spurt that lasted less than 12 minutes. The Dragons did have opportunities but did not score in four second-half free-position attempts.

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2007-02-24