Philadelphia, PA - Senior Christina Mastropaolo scored a career-high five goals to lead the Drexel Dragons to a 5-2 victory over the Hofstra Pride in the CAA opener for both teams at Buckley Field Friday afternoon. Drexel improved to 5-3, 1-0 on the season while the Pride, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, slip to 5-4, 0-1.

In a game that was not decided until the final 16 minutes of the contest, Mastropaolo, the 2009 CAA Player of the Year and second team NFHCA All-American, overshadowed a two-goal performance by Hofstra junior midfielder Arielle Williams with her school-record performance. Junior Amanda Heyde kept the Pride in the game with a career-high 14 saves.

Drexel opened the scoring 7:52 into the contest when senior forward Susan Ciufo carried the ball into the circle and passed to Mastropaolo on the doorstep of the goal for her third tally of the season. Almost five minutes later, Williams, who has scored seven goals in her last four games, scored off a penalty corner with sophomore Krizia Layne as the pusher and freshman Dieke ter Weel as the stopper assisting to tie the game at 1-1.

The Pride dodged a bullet with 12:47 to play in the first half when a penalty stroke was called against Hofstra. Ciufo took the penalty shot for Drexel but bounced her shot off the goal post to keep the game tied. That tie lasted just 16 seconds longer as senior Kim Tunell sent a long pass into the center to Mastropaolo who blasted it past Heyde for a 2-1 advantage. But Hofstra knotted the game at 2-2 with just 3:45 to play in the first half when Arielle Williams converted her third penalty stroke of the season for her seventh goal of the year.

While Drexel controlled the play, the score remained tied until Mastropaolo posted the hat-trick, off a rebound, with 15:20 to play in regulation. Six minutes later, she notched her fourth of the game and sixth of the year off a deflection of a Ciufo shot for a 4-2 advantage. With just 4:24 to play, Mastropaolo broke two Drexel records off another deflected Ciufo shot. Her fifth goal broke the 1992 single game record of four by Beth Mastrocola against Vermont as well as topping Pamie Zukowski's (1998-2001) career goals mark of 52. Drexel outshot the Pride, 29-6, and had nine penalty corners to Hofstra's three.

The Pride return to action on Sunday (Sept. 26) when they travel to New Haven, Connecticut to face the Yale Bulldogs at Johnson Field. Game time is 2 p.m.