A hat trick by Sara Stewart and two by freshman Leah Marshall was not enough for the Gaels to overcome a strong Drexel attack, as the Iona lacrosse team (0-3) lost to the Dragons 11-7 in it's home opener. GAME SUMMARY The teams traded goals to open the contest, with Leah Marshall (5) answering a Dragons goal, and Stewart knotting the score at 2-2. Drexel held Iona off the scoreboard over the final 12 minutes of the half and scored three goals to open a 5-2 lead at the break. Drexel continued to roll in the second half, scoring two more goals before Iona's 22:42 scoreless drought was broken by Kati Paavola's second goal of the season. With 15:53 to play, Marshall found the back of the net, but Drexel answered with two goals in a 13-second span. 27 seconds later Stewart completed the hat-trick with 14:03 remaining. The teams went back-and-forth with Drexel's Lucy Schneidereith scoring her game-best fifth goal of the game and was answered by Sara Stewart. Christine Gironda responded to another Drexel goal with 1:54 to play. NOTABLE NUGGETS Shannon McCaffrey made 11 saves and grabbed one ground ball in the contest. Sara Stewart tallied a team-best three goals on seven shots. Leah Marshall continued her strong all-around play, scoring twice on five shots while adding three ground balls and four draw controls. Drexel outshot the Maroon & Gold 29-26 and were 4-12 on free-position shots while Iona was 1-3. Iona forced seven turnovers but turned the ball over 13 times. UP NEXT Iona hits the road for it's third road game Tuesday at Lafayette, beginning at 7:00 p.m. SOCIAL MEDIA Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms: