Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/25/24
From Press Releases
Jack Joyner (Academy of the New Church) fired a shot into the far corner with 2:24 left to play in overtime to lift host Drexel past UAlbany, 13-12, Saturday at Vidas Field. The Dragons are now 2-1 with both of their victories coming in overtime. Drew McGill had another strong game in the cage with 17 saves as Drexel started its three-game homestand with a thrilling victory on a cold, sunny afternoon in West Philadelphia.
Drexel took what seemed to be control of the game in the second quarter. Trailing 5-3 the Dragons rattled off six consecutive goals to end the half and took a 9-5 lead. Max Semple had three of his four goals in the second period, including an unassisted score off a rebound with 1:31 to play. Luke Tomak, Witt Crawford and Zach Augustine (Avon Grove, 1G, 1A, 3GB) also scored in that run.
The teams exchanged goals in the third as Drexel entered the final 15 minutes with a 10-6 lead. Drexel’s lead was short lived as the Great Danes scored three times in span of two minutes to cut the deficit to 10-9. The Dragons were able to break their drought with 6:50 to go when Gavin Kelly found a sprawling Tate Kienzle (Conestoga) who one-timed a shot to make it 11-9. Drexel was awarded a man-advantage at the same time when UAlbany was called for a slash. However, Regan Endres won the draw and the Great Danes were able to kill the man-up. In the final seconds of their man-down situation, UAlbany attacked the goal and Amos Whitcomb made it 11-10, swinging the momentum back the other way. Endres then won the draw and 21 seconds later tied the game at 11-11. Drexel’s Gavin Kelly and UAlbany’s Silas Richmond traded goals and neither team was able to score in the last 2:50, forcing the overtime.
In the overtime, Drexel won the draw and had a shot attempt turned aside by Landon Whitney, It was his 14th save of the day. The Great Danes failed to clear the ball, setting up Joyner’s second goal of the night. Joyner started left, then rolled back right and fired a rocket home to end the contest.
McGill had six of his season-high 17 saves in the fourth period. He has had at least 14 stops in every game this season. Kelly had a big afternoon, scoring a pair of goals and handing out three assists. Semple had 11th career game with at least three goals.
Jackson Palumb led UAlbany with three goals. Richmond, Jake Piseno and Whitcomb each had two points. The Great Danes outshot Drexel, 54-45, but the Dragons had a 37-22 edge on the ground. The teams were virtually even on face-offs, with Albany edging Drexel, 15-14.
Lafayette 19, Binghamton 12
Charlie Cunniffe (Episcopal Academy) erupted for six goals and four assists and John Mathes tallied six goals as the host Leopards captured their third-straight win at Fisher Stadium.
Senior captains Cunniffe and Mathes connected for the Leopards’ opening goal, after Mathes rifled home a shot at the 13:27 mark. Kalman Kraham, Mathes, Peter Lehman (Council Rock North, 3G), Connor Freeman and Cunniffe all found the back of the net in the first quarter, propelling Lafayette to a 6-1 lead.
Lehman opened the scoring in the second quarter with back-to-back goals assisted by sophomore Aidan Kopen (Haverford School, 2A) and Cunniffe. Liam Ferris responded two minutes later for Binghamton, cutting the Bearcats’ deficit to six goals (8-2). Two more goals each from Mathes and Cunniffe handed the Maroon and White a 12-5 lead at the intermission.
Joe Doherty (Malvern Prep) had 15 saves for Lafayette.
Penn State 13, Navy 3
The visiting Lions earned their third straight victory as Will Peden (Malvern Prep) scored a career-high four goals, Matt Traynor (Malvern Prep) had three goals, two assists and six groundballs, TJ Malone (Haverford School) had a goal and two assists, Mac Costin (Haverford School) and Jake Morin (Garnet Valley) each had a goal and an assist and Luke Walstrum (Council Rock North) scored once. Will Costin (Haverford School) led the defense with two groundballs and three caused turnovers.
Villanova 15, Colgate 9
The Wildcats (1-2) took down No. 20 Colgate. The Wildcats outscored Colgate 5-1 in the first quarter and did not let up with nine Villanova players finding the back of the net and 13 goals being assisted. Matt Licata led with three goals and a career-high four assists and Colin Michener (Penn Charter) had three goals and an assist.
Villanova’s defense forced a season-high 15 turnovers in the victory. Ohio State transfer Zupicich led the way with a career-high four caused turnovers while David Evanchick and Jack Shoemaker each caused three.
Maryland 13, Princeton 7
The No. 4 Terps led the visiting Tigers from start to finish. The Terps moved to 4-0 for the sixth time in eight seasons and the eighth time under head coach John Tillman since he was hired in 2011.
Maryland was led by Eric Spanos (Malvern Prep), who set a career-high four goals and an assist; and Luke Wierman (Henderson) won 20 of 23 faceoffs. Will Schaller (Hill School) had two groundballs and a caused turnover on defense.
Rutgers 13, Loyola 5
Shane Knobloch (Moorestown) had three goals and one assist for the Scarlet Knights (3-1).
