Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/11/23
From Press Release
Drexel’s offense exploded for a season-high 18 goals in an impressive 18-16 victory over No. 17 Saint Joseph’s at Franklin Field on Saturday in the Philly 4 Lacrosse Classic.
The Dragons scored 12 times in the first half as they evened their record at 3-3. Jack Mulcahy (Downingtown East) scored five times, while Sean Donnelly and Max Semple each scored three times. Ross Blumenthal tied a season-high with 16 saves in the cage.
The Haeks (3-3) lost their third straight game despite three goals and two assists from Levi Anderson and three goals each from Carter Page and Tucker Brown. Zach Cole (Lenape) won 23 of 37 faceoffs.
The Dragons led by six at the half, but Saint Joseph’s scored three times to start the second half to get back in the game. After the Hawks cut the deficit to 12-9, Drexel scored a big goal to stop the momentum.
The Dragons won the face-off and long pole Charlie Maly converted in transition. Drexel would get a man advantage and less than a minute later the lead would swell to five when Zach Augustine (Avon Grove) set up Donnelly with 3:16 to play in the third. The Hawks would not go away. They scored in the final minute of the quarter and scored two more to start the fourth making it 14-12.
Drexel got one of those back on another man-up goal when Mulcahy found the net for his fifth of the game. Tucker Brown answered for the Hawks before Luke Tomak, Donnelly and Conor Hooley scored in succession giving Drexel an 18-13 lead. Saint Joseph’s tried to get back in the contest with three straight goals but the Dragons held off their Philadelphia neighbors to pick up their first top-20 win of the young season.
The Dragons had their best offensive half of the season to start the game. The first quarter went back and forth with four ties. Drexel trailed 4-3 but tied the game on an extra-man goal by Tomak. It started a four-goal run that extended into the second period as Drexel took a 7-4 lead.
After the Hawks broke a scoreless drought of almost 10 minutes, Drexel ratted of three-straight scores making it 10-5. Carter Page scored for Saint Joseph’s at the 3:26 mark to make it 10-6, but again the Dragons answered. Mulcahy scored for the fourth time in the half just 25 seconds later and with just under two minutes to go Semple completed a hat trick in transition. Drexel scored on 12 of its 20 shot attempts in the first 30 minutes with Mulcahy scoring on all four of his shots.
Mulcahy finished the game with a season-high six points. Donnelly added five points, while Tomak had a pair of goals and assists. Blumenthal was under pressure most of the day, but came up with 16 saves, including six in the second quarter when Drexel took control of the game. Saint Joseph’s was led by Levi Anderson’s five points. The Hawks outshot Drexel, 57-33, and won 23 of the 37 face-offs.