Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/17/26
From Press Release
The Drexel men’s lacrosse team blanked Lafayette in the fourth quarter and scored a pair of goals to defeat the Leopards, 9-8, in Easton tonight. It is the first time since the 1997-98 season, the Drexel men’s lacrosse team has opened a campaign 3-0.
Drexel received a season-high four goals from Witt Crawford. The junior was nearly automatic from outside the crease, taking five shots and scoring on all of his attempts that were on target.
Brendan Donnelly (Germantown Academy) turned in another strong defensive performance, making 11 saves. The Drexel defense was sharp as well, holding Lafayette to under 50 percent shooting on goal.
The first quarter was a stalemate, with both teams scoring twice. Drexel broke through the Leopard defense with 6:43 remaining, when Crawford finished on the doorstep to give the Dragons the lead. Less than a minute later, Lafayette tied the game and then went ahead with 4:07 left. With 17 seconds remaining in the quarter, Jack Joyner (Academy of the New Church, 1G, 1A, 2GB, 1CT) scored to send the game into the second tied at 2-2.
Lafayette outscored Drexel 4-2 in the second quarter. The Dragons struck first with a man-up goal from Owen Knight (Radnor) at the 10:29 mark. Lafayette answered a minute and a half later to tie the game again. The Leopards regained the lead with four minutes remaining, but it didn’t last long—Crawford netted his second goal of the night off a feed from Alec Tulio (Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 2G, 1A). Lafayette closed the half with two straight goals and led 6-4 at halftime after a tally by Aidan Kopen (Haverford School, 2G, 3GB, 1CT).
Drexel surged offensively in the third quarter. Knight’s shot produced a rebound that Lincoln Wall cleaned up just over a minute in. After Lafayette pushed its lead back to two with 11:51 remaining, the Dragons responded with three straight. Crawford completed his hat trick at the 8:45 mark, followed by the equalizer from Tulio 47 seconds later. Lafayette briefly regained the lead with 1:48 left, capitalizing immediately off a line change.
The Dragons opened the fourth quarter with a pair of goals to take control. Tulio tied the game at 8-8 with 10:40 remaining, and just over a minute later, Crawford scored his fourth of the night on a feed from Liam Kammar. The Drexel defense shut the Leopards down the rest of the way, holding them scoreless for the final 16 minutes.
Joe Doherty (Malvern Prep) had 7 saves in goal for the Leopards.
