Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/6/21
From Press Release
Sean Donnelly scored four goals and had three assists in his Drexel debut as the Dragons defeated Towson, 12-10, at Vidas Field on Saturday afternoon in the season opener.
It was the Dragons first win against the Tigers since 2015.
Ryan Genord added three goals and two assists while Jack Mulcahy (Downingtown East) and Aidan Coll (The Hill School) each had a goal and an assist for Drexel, which scored five of the last six goals of the games to erase a 9-7 deficit.
The Dragons broke a 10-10 tie with the final two goals of the contest by two of the top players in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dragons found themselves on the man-up but turned the ball over.
Reid Bowering, who was held in check by the tough Towson defense most of the day, caused a turnover right in front of the Tigers’ cage. He picked the loose ball up and with a quick release gave the Dragons the 11-10 lead. It was goal number 123 in Bowering’s career, giving him sole possession of second place on Drexel’s career goals list. With 2:38 to go, Drexel got a big insurance goal when Collin Mailman scored his first of the season off a pass from Donnelly.
Drexel trailed 9-7 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the Tigers, 5-1, in the final 15 minutes. Mulcahy cut the lead to one less than two minutes in and Drexel evened the score 37 seconds later. Sean Quinn grabbed a loose ball, headed toward the cage and delivered a feed to Donnelly, who fired a shot from 10 yards out to even the game at 9-9. The Dragons took their first lead since the first quarter when Genord was set up by Mulcahy. That lead lasted less than a minute as Austin Stewart’s unassisted tally knotted it up for the fourth time of the game.
Donnelly, who transferred to Drexel from Syracuse, made a great first impression with his seven-point performance. He had a team-high 14 shots. Genord picked up from where he left off last season with another big game. He scored three times and handed out two assists. Ross Blumenthal, in his third season with the team, played one of the best games of his career. He kept the Dragons in the game early with eight first-half saves, including one of the doorstep that was highlight-reel material. Blumenthal finished the day with 12 stops.
The Dragons picked up the win despite Towson’s dominance on face-offs. The Tigers won 20 of the 26 face-offs, but Drexel’s defense did a good job of holding the Tigers’ offense in check. Drexel forced 19 Towson turnovers in the game. Bowering and Quinn each caused three to lead the team. The Tigers held a 27-21 edge in ground balls. Shane Santora took all 26 face-offs for Towson, winning 20, and grabbed six ground balls.