Deep into postseason play, Drexel is relying on an underdog mentality to prove naysayers wrong
The No. 23-ranked Dragons have celebrated wins over high-major programs and have vaulted themselves back into the conference championship. Now, they want respect on their name.
Bea Buckley understands bias.
The sophomore attack for Drexel‘s nationally ranked women’s lacrosse team knows that being a mid-major program in a sport dominated by bigger schools means that respect must be earned.
She also said that lack of respect has allowed the Dragons to develop an underdog mentality, one that fueled a 14-3 (7-1 Coastal Athletic Association) record and a No. 23 national ranking following wins over the likes of preseason No. 19 Penn State and No. 24 Harvard.
For Buckley, who leads the team in points (67), that tenacity initially attracted her to the program — a quality that starts inside Drexel’s locker room.
“I was drawn to the underdog mentality,” Buckley said. “It was like, ‘No one wants us, so we’ll do it ourselves.’”
Now, in the CAA tournament, the Dragons are seeking to avenge their 2024 CAA championship game loss at the hands of Stony Brook.
Drexel‘s dominance has been powered by a deep lineup. The Dragons had seven players named to All-CAA teams this season, anchored by Jenika Cuocco, who was named the CAA goalkeeper of the year for a third consecutive season.
While the Dragons may be receiving plenty of recognition, the program is driven by that unshakable underdog mentality.
Another big win was earned on Thursday as the No. 2-seeded Dragons knocked off their rival, No. 3 Delaware, 20-11, in the CAA tournament semifinals. The Dragons tied a 32-year-old single-game playoff goals record in the process, but more important, set up a rematch against top-seeded Stony Brook in the final Saturday (noon, LacrosseTV).
Sinking the Seawolves
With a high-powered offense and Cuocco in net, Drexel has what it takes to win a CAA crown. Standing in the way: the Seawolves, who’ve been in the top 20 of Inside Lacrosse’s national rankings every week except one.
And who can forget last season, when Stony Brook beat Drexel, 9-6, in the CAA championship game?
This season, Stony Brook beat Drexel in the sole regular-season matchup, 17-13.
For Buckley, who is just two assists shy of capturing the single-season program record, the rivalry between the programs grows stronger with each battle.
“Every year, we keep getting closer and closer to beating them,” Buckley said. “They’re starting to fall back on their heels, and we’re just going forward. We are their best competition in the CAA. They know that, and we know that. If we do end up seeing them again, we have a very fair chance of beating them.”
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Proving ‘em wrong
Win or lose Saturday, Buckley hopes that this season not only puts people on notice but brings more respect to the program.
“People don’t write about us. People don’t really acknowledge how much work we put into the program,” Buckley said. “People don’t come and watch our games like they watch other games, and I think that all those little things, it’s annoying, but we don’t really mind it.
“I think it feeds us and pushes us to want to make more of a statement. With people staying quiet, it’s fine with us, because we just keep proving them wrong.”
Buckley, who attended Penn Charter, amassed 39 assists this season, good for second-best in the CAA. She dishes the ball out to the Dragons’ goal-scoring trio of Anna Maria Gragnani, Allison Drake, and Bridget Finley, who are among the top 10 goal scorers in the conference.
“Looking back, it’s whatever team shows up that day is going to win,” Buckley said. “Every team is so equally talented, and no team is perfect. We’re going to make mistakes, but as long as we can bounce back from those and keep going hard, we can beat anyone.”
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