Men’s lacrosse takes first conference win against Blue Hens | The Triangle

Men’s lacrosse takes first conference win against Blue Hens

Photo courtesy Drexeldragons.com
Photo courtesy Drexeldragons.com

The Drexel University men’s lacrosse team has experienced a difficult stretch of games over the past few weeks with many tough matchups against conference foes.

The Dragons have been able to keep up with their opponents for the most part, but seem unable to finish the job when it really matters. However, this was not the case April 23 in Newark, Delaware when the Dragons faced the University of Delaware, another conference opponent.

The match began with good defense by both teams. The Blue Hens created an early turnover, but could not take advantage of their position. Drexel also forced an early turnover, but like Delaware, the Dragons’ offense failed to follow it up.

The first goal of the game came from the Blue Hens at 9:44. Junior Paul Major earned Delaware a 1-0 lead with his 24th goal of the season. Both teams continued to battle it out until Delaware scored again at the 2:07 mark to put the Blue Hens up by two.

In the second quarter, Delaware seemed to be pulling away when they scored their third goal at the 11:41 mark. Trailing 3-0, Drexel knew it was time to make a move. Just two minutes later, Drexel’s junior Robert Frazee scored his 18th goal of the season, putting the Dragons on the board. This energized the Dragons throughout the rest of the quarter.

Drexel maintained such a strong defense that Delaware was unable to score for the rest of the quarter. The Dragons’ junior Joseph Rainoldi scored at the 3:34 mark, making the score 2-3 in favor of Delaware.

The Dragons came out of halftime with renewed energy. They immediately forced a turnover and pressed their advantage, scoring at the 13:35 mark. Robert Frazee scored his second goal of the game, 19th of the season, to tie the game at 3-3.

The remainder of the third quarter proved to be a tough stalemate until the 55 second mark, when freshman Matthew Varian gave the Dragons the lead with his 17th goal of the season, making the score 4-3 in favor of Drexel.

Both teams played well in the final quarter. Delaware tied the game at 4-4 with a quick goal at 13:27. The Blue Hens scored again a few minutes later for a 5-4 lead. The Dragons took their time but junior Jeremy Omrod was ultimately able to tie the game at 2:37 with his third goal of the season. Neither team made any headway during the remaining two minutes, so the game entered overtime.

Overtime was a nail-biter to say the least. Neither team seemed to be able to take control, which meant that the first team to score would most likely win. Sophomore Michael Kay scored the first and only goal during overtime with just 39 seconds remaining. Delaware was unable to answer in the remaining seconds of the game, giving Drexel a much-needed conference win.

The win gave Drexel a 1-3 record in their conference along with a 5-8 record overall. The Dragons will host one last game against the University of Massachusetts April 29 and hope to end the season on a high note.