Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/5/24
From Press Releases
Thomas McIntire scored in double overtime as host Villanova rallied past Drexel, 13-12, tonight. The Wildcats came back from three down in the final minutes and Tyler Boes forced overtime with nine seconds left.
“Goals got tough in the second half and our defense really stepped up and improved a lot from the first half,” said Villanova head coach Mike Corrado. “We won some really key faceoffs and tough ground balls and were able to turn them into goals to get this to overtime. McIntire is experienced and has played in a lot of games and we wanted that experience out there. Coach Simon Connor made the call to put him in and he made him look good.”
A very intense fourth quarter saw Drexel take a 12-9 lead with 5:31 remaining. Villanova slowly chipped away with goals from Stephen Zupicich and Matt Licata. Sam Parkinson kept the ‘Cats alive causing a turnover with a minute remaining that led to the Boes equalizer.
Colin Michener (Penn Charter) and Licata led the way offensively for Villanova each finishing with a hat trick. Mason Reale recorded multiple points for the fourth consecutive game and Justin Coppola was impressive winning 19 of 27 faceoffs.
A back-and-forth first half saw Drexel take control late. Max Semple opened the scoring for the Dragons 53 seconds into the contest followed by three unanswered goals by Reale, Licata and Boes. Momentum stalled quickly for Villanova as Drexel went on a 4-1 run to close out the first quarter. Michener found the back of the net twice in the second quarter, but Drexel kept its momentum tallying four goals in the period. Licata silenced the crowd towards the end of the quarter and Drexel took a 9-7 lead into the halftime break. Nicholas Lucchesi netted Villanova’s lone goal in the third quarter as the Dragons tacked on two more to take momentum into the fourth.
Reale followed up his first BIG EAST Player of the Week nod with a goal and four assists. Boes finished with two goals and Anthony Wilson recorded seven saves in the win. Zupicich caused three turnovers alongside his goal that ignited the run in the fourth quarter. Justin Coppola won a season high 19 faceoffs and picked up nine ground balls.
Luke Tomak led Drexel with four goals and two assists and Conor Hooley had three goals and three assists. Goalie Drew McGill was impressive with 11 saves in the loss.
