The Drexel University men’s lacrosse team had huge wins over Saint Joseph’s University March 8 and the No. 11 Villanova University March 10 at the Vidas Athletic Complex for the Philly 4 Lacrosse Classic.
SJU went up 2-0 at the start of the first period, but the Dragons tied it up at the end 3-3. In the second, the score was still neck-and-neck, but SJU had a 6-5 lead heading into halftime.
The two teams battled in the third period as junior Matthew Varian was the only player to score, which tied things up for the Dragons at 6-6.
The Dragons capped off the end of the fourth period with a 4-0 scoring run to win the game 10-7.
This was a great win for the Dragons as they had lost last season to SJU 10-9.
Freshman goalkeeper Ross Blumenthal made his collegiate debut during the SJU game and had six saves for the Dragons. Junior Marshal King and Varian ended the game each with hat tricks. For his efforts, King was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week.
During the game against Villanova, the score was tight in the beginning as the Wildcats scored the first goal of the game. The Dragons were quick to respond as they tied things up at one just three minutes later. By the end of the first quarter, Villanova was leading 5-3.
The Wildcats opened the second period with a goal, but the Dragons proceeded to go on a 6-0 scoring run to gain a lead of 9-6. Villanova was stunned.
The scoring run continued after halftime as the Dragons increase their lead to 11-6 before Villanova had a chance to respond. The third period ended with the Dragons up 12-8.
This lead was large enough to maintain in the final period as the Dragons won 15-10 against one of the top-ranked teams in the nation.
Villanova took more shots throughout the game than the Dragons, but Drexel’s shooting was more effective as they made 23 of their total 32 shots on goal.
Blumenthal had 13 saves for the Dragons, a career-high, and sophomore Collin Mailman also had a career-high four goals.
The Dragons are now 3-3 for the season. The team will travel to Washington, D.C., to play Georgetown University March 16 at 12 p.m.