Box Score ANNVILLE, Pa. (May 10, 2014) – The No. 5 Drew University women's lacrosse team saw its 2014 postseason run come to an end on Saturday with an 18-10 loss at top-seeded and host Lebanon Valley College in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championships semifinals.
 
In her final game of her junior season, attacker Nikki Kleiman's goal to open the second half and cut the Flying Dutchmen's lead to 9-7 gave her 200 for her career. Kleiman becomes just the fourth member of the 200-Goal Club and now has 201 after netting five in Saturday's ECAC setback.
 
"Scoring 200 goals as a junior is very impressive," said second-year head coach Julia Steier. "She was getting a lot of attention from top defenders all season and still got it done. She makes acrobatic catches in the middle where you kind of scratch your head and wonder how she does it. She's a phenomenal player."
 
The semifinal's opening half was split into two sections by one strike of lightning that sent the game into a 40-plus minute delay. Before the break, the Rangers led 4-1 after erasing an early 1-0 deficit with four straight goals beneath a persistent and pouring rain.
 
Junior midfielder Krysta Cento tied it at 1-1 off an assist from freshman Charlotte Brown before junior attacker Nikki Kleiman quickly gave the Rangers the lead with a free position goal. Kleiman then assisted on senior midfielder Brooke Gagliano's goal to give Drew the 3-1 lead before Brown capped the rally with a goal of her own.
 
The four-goal spurt spanned just over six minutes. But then the skies lit up and the ensuing roll of thunder officially started the mandatory 30-minute lightning delay. The lightning not only electrified the nearby skies, it sparked the Dutchmen offense.
 
After the delay, LVC went on an 8-2 run to take a 9-6 lead into halftime. Two Kleiman goals were sandwiched in between a five and a three-goal run by the Dutchmen as the sun finally began to shine over Annville and its women's lacrosse team.
 
"I do think the delay took us out of our game and our mindset," Steier said. "We were fired up from the get-go, so I think the break hurt us and never allowed us to get our bearings back."
 
Freshman goalkeeper Gianna Minogue played the first half between the pipes, making six saves and extending her stick into the defensive effort, grabbing four ground balls and intercepting two passes for her two caused turnovers.
 
The Rangers struggled on the clear in the first half with an 8-for-14 success rate, helping Lebanon Valley take the extra possessions needed to take its lead into the locker room.
 
Kleiman's fourth goal of the contest cut the Dutchmen lead to 9-7 two minutes into the second half, but LVC responded with two goals over the span of 1:08.
 
With 11 minutes left on the clock, and essentially the Rangers' season, LVC had doubled up Drew 14-7 with another scoring run of five goals.
 
Cento scored twice to draw the Rangers closer, 14-9, but the Dutchmen again had the answer with Mel Modrick's sixth goal of the game.
 
Kleiman scored her fifth goal of the game with 1:19 to play, but LVC held a comfortable 18-10 lead to run out the final minute and advance to the ECAC Mid-Atlantic championship game on Sunday against No. 3 St. Joseph's (L.I.) College.
 
While the Class of 2014 played its final game wearing the Blue & Green on Saturday, the Rangers send off five seniors to their careers after Drew while also looking forward to a solid core of returnees in 2015. Steier mentioned the freshmen defenders in particular with their vast improvement since preseason in January. Steier commended the play of Gionna Marotta, Cailyn Breski and Kelly Dwyer and feels the backline has bright future with three years left from each of those defenders.
 
"Gionna really stepped up today and is becoming a great team defender," Steier said. "Solid things will develop for her in this program, as it will for Breski. She had to learn a brand new position after playing in goal during high school. She has become one of our best one-on-one defenders in the back.
 
"Kelly Dwyer is very coachable and wants to learn more," Steier continued. "She's not afraid to ask questions and will take the blame if something goes wrong. That has allowed her to become a great defender for us. Fitness wise, she will be deadly going forward and her lacrosse IQ has been getting better and better."