Photo Courtesy: Luke Kwiecinski

In sports, if a team rises from the bottom, it’s usually the case that they will need to overthrow the top team to prove their worth. You have to beat the best to be the best, they say.

The Drexel roller hockey club team’s most recent game was against Saint Joseph’s University, a squad that has dominated the Philadelphia Collegiate Roller Hockey League for the last few seasons. The Hawks have been Drexel’s white whale since November 2009, the last time the Dragons marked a win against them.

Earlier this season, Drexel fell to St. Joe’s 7-1 for their only loss in an otherwise perfect schedule of results. Boasting a 6-1 PCRHL record, they had another chance to slay the beast Feb. 23, with a Sunday evening match against the Hawks at Marple Sports Arena in Broomall, Pa.

Drexel’s pregame plan was centered on Hawks star forward Sean McArdle, who many of the Dragons called the best player in the league.

“We game plan pretty much to stop him, we know he’s their main guy,” senior Drexel forward Steve Utain explained. “He’s their leading scorer, he’s the guy who makes them run. When he turns it on, he’s very hard to stop.”

But by the time the final buzzer sounded, it was a familiar result for Drexel, with St. Joe’s up 5-2 behind a hat trick from McArdle and two goals from forward Dom Anastasia. Senior forwards Pete Albano and Corey DeMarco paired well, splitting the only two goals and assists for Drexel, while senior goaltender Adrian Orio recorded 31 saves on 36 shots.

“Our chemistry just wasn’t there. Every time we play them we seem to be a little tight and that seemed to be the main factor this game,” Utain said. “Adrian played well, he always plays well. It’s not the matter of our goaltending, it’s the matter of getting shots on their goalie.”

The Hawks got on the board with 12:30 left in the first period, as Anastasia deked past a defenseman and buried one past Orio. The Dragons took a penalty late in the first period, but DeMarco took a lead pass from Albano and fired a wrist shot underneath the crossbar to tie things up 1-1 with 3:00 to go.

Off the next faceoff, McArdle gave his team the lead, cradling the puck through the Drexel defense and the five-hole for a 2-1 score. The Dragons were shut out for the next 30 minutes as St. Joe’s built a 5-1 lead on two more goals by McArdle and another from Anastasia.

“It took us way too long to get into our game plan,” senior defenseman and team captain Zak Harrison said after the game. “We came out way too flat and too slow. The forecheck wasn’t there until late in the third, and that’s when we started to actually generate opportunities.”

With 3:15 remaining in the third period, DeMarco fired a low shot that Albano deflected into the net to set the score at 5-2, where it would stay. Drexel had a few tough breaks as time wound down, including a slap shot from junior defenseman Brendan Mullen that hit the crossbar with about 2:00 left in the game.

As Utain explained, Orio was the reason the Dragons stayed within striking distance in the game. The goalie made 11 saves in the first period, 13 saves in the second and eight saves in the final frame. The majority of the goals he allowed were on odd-man rushes and one-on-one opportunities.

“My helmet made a few saves, like four or five saves,” Orio said as he cleaned the black scuff marks off his new headgear. “But we can’t back off on them when they’re skating into our zone. … We have to step up at the blue line.”

Going into the game, many of Drexel’s veteran players thought this was their best chance for a win against the stellar Hawks squad, which they haven’t beaten in their careers in Blue and Gold. Even though the Dragons are 0-2 against their rivals in the regular season, they expect to see St. Joe’s again in the playoffs in April.

Harrison, Orio and Utain believe that if they do face the Hawks in the playoffs, they will have to execute head coach Dane Ward’s game plan better: get out to a strong start, make better decisions with the puck, and don’t give St. Joe’s — especially McArdle — too much respect in the rink.

There are still a handful of games in the regular season — including those against Kutztown University and Villanova University March 2 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively — but anything before the playoffs is essentially a technicality for the Dragons at this point. They’re excited for a chance to knock off the league’s best team when it matters most.

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Senior midfielder Ken Tribbett looks to make a play during Drexel’s 1-1 draw against Hofstra University Oct. 30 at Vidas Field. Before the match, eight graduating student-athletes were recognized on Senior Night for the Dragons. Tribbett finished the season with four goals and two assists.

Hopes were high as the Drexel men’s soccer team took the field in the first round of the NCAA College Cup. The Blue and Gold stood between the lines Nov. 21 just after the clock struck 6 p.m. and stood face to face with the Monarchs of Old Dominion University.

On this night, the Dragons looked to come out on top and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, something they failed to do last season when they suffered a 2-0 loss to Brown University on their home turf at Vidas Field.

17 minutes later, they were stunned.

Old Dominion had cashed in three goals on four shots and led Drexel 3-0 before either team really even worked up a sweat. The first two goals came off the foot of senior Tim Hopkinson, the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year. If Ron Burgundy were there, he could have summed it up perfectly: “That escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.”

“We ran into a team that was well-rested; we ran into a good team,” head coach Doug Hess said. “It’s soccer. Sometimes there’s days where everything goes right for one team and everything goes wrong for the other team.”

As Hess went on to explain, as a patient team, it was difficult for his players to adjust their style of play so early in the contest. Basically, a Drexel team that had not scored more than three goals in a game all season was now forced to score four in order to advance. The Dragons were unable to accomplish this feat, and the Monarchs ousted them by a score of 5-1.

After the initial onslaught of three Old Dominion goals, things settled down on the Drexel defensive end for the rest of the half. However, the Dragons were unable to get a crucial score before halftime to bring the deficit to two. Then, just 1:42 into the second half, the Monarchs struck again with a goal from freshman forward Jesse Miralrio.

“If we had pulled a goal before the half, it might have changed some things for sure,” Hess said. “We reorganized at halftime and encouraged the group … [but] two minutes in you’re down four, and you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness.’”

To their testament, the Dragons kept on pushing. They recorded 11 shots in the second half, but Old Dominion redshirt senior goalkeeper Sean Stowe kept out five of their six attempts on goal. Senior midfielder Jared Girard managed to score the lone goal, as he pushed in a rebound with 22 minutes left in the match. That marked the program’s first score in NCAA Tournament play since 1963.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think they’re four goals better than us. … They scored [the second and third] goals on pinpoint finishing,” Hess said. “They didn’t undo our back four; it was kind of in front of our backs. They didn’t get behind us until the fifth goal, when we were wide open and just trying to bomb forward.”

One of the players involved in the desperation and “bombing forward” late in the match was senior midfielder Ken Tribbett, who had five attempted shots against Old Dominion. He — along with midfielder and 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year Nathan Page, defender and team captain Tal Bublil, defender Skylar Olson, and Girard — is part of a special senior class for the Dragons.

In an up-and-down span of time at Drexel, the team finished last in the CAA in 2009 and 2010 but has since won two straight regular-season conference titles as well as this year’s conference tournament. Over the past five years, the program has been through a lot, and it is obvious to see that the eight graduating student-athletes were instrumental in getting the Dragons back on top.

“You can never say enough about them. There’s only one group that comes through for the first time,” Hess said. “You talk about a group that came on hope … it was barren. They came on the hope of something.”

He continued, “I’m proud of that group. They will always hold a special place in my heart and a special place in Drexel soccer [because] they made history.”

Hess reflected on both the character of this senior class and also the quality of the season as a whole. His Dragons finished with a 9-8-4 overall record, which included a 4-1-2 mark in CAA play. Their regular-season title culminated with the program’s first-ever CAA Tournament victory at Vidas Field Nov. 16, when Drexel defeated The College of William & Mary 1-0.

While the conference success was great to see, Hess admitted that he thought the entire season of work was less than satisfactory. Considering that the Dragons finished with an out-of-conference record of 4-6-2, there is certainly something to focus on for next season.

“I’ve had a lot of people be like, ‘Oh, great season!’ and I get that, but I also think that it wasn’t a great season,” Hess said. “We were great in conference … [and] that’s fantastic. But when you’re 9-8-4 and you lose your last game 5-1, as the guy in charge of that, it’s kind of a bittersweet pill to swallow.”

But after swallowing that pill, Hess has already moved on to offseason activity. Following what he called a “two-day sleep and recovery,” the head coach has been actively recruiting and is already looking forward to the prospects of next season.

“My wife will attest that there’s no such thing as an offseason,” he joked. “We lost on a Thursday night, and on Saturday I was watching youth soccer. … You [have to] get over it and get on with the job.”

As for the players, they are currently recovering as well — physically and mentally — following four months of strenuous in-season training and competition. Following winter break, there will be preliminary fitness testing and they will start to prepare for next year. The spring season from January to May, or the “build,” as Hess calls it, will be especially instrumental to the team’s performance in the 2014 season.

It might be difficult to repeat the success of the past two seasons without those eight graduating seniors — five of whom were among Drexel’s starting 11 — but Hess is ready and excited for the challenge.

“A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, you’re losing all those guys, now what?’” he asked himself rhetorically. “I still think, we lose all those guys, but I still believe we will be better. Part of that is the optimism of a coach — you have to believe that — but I feel like there’s going to be a new group that takes us to that next point.”

That next point is the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and only the top 32 teams in the nation make it there. Following a heartbreaking end to the 2013 campaign and the end of an era for the trailblazing senior class, the remaining players on the roster and the incoming freshman class will have big shoes to fill.

Four years ago, a second-round appearance in the College Cup was nearly unfathomable. But with the success — and hopefully sustained success — that the Dragons have had in the past two seasons, that goal is as possible as ever.

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The Drexel men’s soccer team won its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association Championship title against The College of William & Mary Nov. 16. Drexel defender Jameson Detweiler scored the only goal of the game.

Jameson Detweiler doesn’t usually go to the net. But in a scoreless, winner-take-all match against The College of William & Mary in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game, the redshirt freshman defender took a chance and followed team captain Tal Bublil into scoring range.

In the 26th minute of the match, junior midfielder Michele Pataia fed an ideal corner kick into the box. After a hectic scrum, Detweiler was the one who poked the ball inside the far-left post, past Tribe goalkeeper Mac Phillips, who lunged to his right.

“Going into the box, Tal told me to run right behind him. As he was running I just saw the ball go directly over his head and just kind of hit my leg and fell right to my feet,” Detweiler said. “I saw an open corner and I just passed it into [the net]. That’s all I could do, basically.”

It would be the only goal in the 90 minutes of play, and the Drexel men’s soccer team won its first-ever CAA Tournament title with a 1-0 victory over No. 21 William & Mary. In the title game, freshman goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach made four saves to record his sixth clean sheet in 17 starts this season. Afflerbach, senior midfielder Ken Tribbett and sophomore forward Joaquin del Rosario were named to the All-Championships team.

Tal Bublil was named the CAA Championships Most Outstanding Performer by anchoring the team as it shut out the Tribe, a team that had scored six goals in a 6-3 semifinal win against the University of North Carolina Wilmington two days before the championship.

“We’ve been dreaming about this moment for the past four years — it’s unbelievable,” the senior defender said as he cradled two trophies in his arms during the postgame celebration. “The boys played amazingly, we defended as 10 plus the goalie, and we attacked as a team. It was a group effort, just like it was all season.”

The win also clinched an automatic NCAA College Cup berth for the Dragons, which was a relief for two main reasons. First of all, with a poor out-of-conference record of 4-6-1, Drexel was not going to receive an at-large bid to the tournament. Also, it will cut down on the suspense. Last season, the Dragons had to wait out a tense selection show where they were the final team selected in the 48-school bracket.

“It takes a huge weight off our shoulders. Last year, we were the last team called in, so it’s just excellent to know that we’re getting in there,” Detweiler said following the championship win.

The athletic department arranged a team gathering Nov. 18 at noon in the Recreation Center lobby outside of Landmark Americana to watch the NCAA Selection Show. Nearly 100 Drexel students, coaches and staff members came to support the team as the players waited to see which team they would be playing in the first round. As the third quadrant of the bracket was revealed, Drexel’s name appeared next to former CAA foe Old Dominion University.

Now in Conference USA, the No. 16 Monarchs finished 10-5-1 overall, including 7-2-0 in conference play. The match will be played Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. in Norfolk, Va. Old Dominion holds the No. 16 rating percentage index in the country, but Tribbett is very confident in his team, no matter who lines up on the other side of the field.

“I like [the matchup],” the Tribbett said. “Honestly I think we can beat anybody, so anyone who wants to face us, tough luck for them.”

Drexel already has two wins against ranked opponents this season — both against William & Mary — and suffered a 1-0 loss at the then-No. 12 University of Maryland Oct. 22. Following the CAA championship win, Detweiler expressed his thoughts on what kind of team the Dragons have, and their potential chances of advancing in the NCAA College Cup.

“[We’re] just a team that’s not going to quit,” he said. “We had a rough season to begin with, and we righted it a little bit. And now, obviously, we fixed it enough to win, so we’re going to keep going.”

Even though the Monarchs’ program might be somewhat recognizable to the Dragons, Old Dominion is a much different team now than when Drexel beat the soccer Monarchs 4-1 last season at Vidas Field Sept. 22. Following the selection show, head coach Doug Hess commented as much as he could about his team’s upcoming opponent.

“We’re pretty familiar with them,” he explained, “[but] they did graduate a fair amount of guys from last year, and then they have some steady players that returned from last year, so we will see.”

Contrary to last year’s club, which allowed only 15 goals all season, this season’s Old Dominion team has allowed 23 total goals with redshirt senior Sean Stowe between the pipes. But on the offensive end, one constant for the Monarchs has been the play of forward Tim Hopkinson. The senior from Nottingham, England, will surely be a marked man for the Dragons, as he led the team with 10 goals last season and has scored another 10 goals this year.

The winner of this matchup will go on to face sixth-seeded Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. The Hoyas are one of the nation’s best teams, having outscored their opponents this season 36-9 en route to a 13-4-2 overall mark, including a 6-2-1 record in the Big East Conference. Right now, though, Hess’ crew must focus on beating Old Dominion to grab the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

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Senior Mark Donohue protects the ball during Drexel’s 1-1 draw against Hofstra University Oct. 30. The forward has two goals in 17 appearances so far this season.

Have you ever heard the adage “competition breeds champions”? Probably not, because I just made it up. But even though it is a phrase I just pulled out of my skull, it seems to apply greatly to the Drexel men’s soccer team in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Because the CAA has grown to be one of the deepest and most competitive soccer conferences in the NCAA, the Dragons had no choice but to rise up and give their rivals some fight after falling to the bottom of the league. I mean, being from West Philly, what else were they supposed to do?

Following two consecutive last-place finishes in 2009 and 2010 and a transition year in 2011, Drexel has now clinched two consecutive regular-season conference championships in the strong CAA. A 2-1 win in a must-win match over conference newcomer College of Charleston put the Dragons on top of the standings once again, which means that the CAA Tournament will be at Vidas Field for the second consecutive season.

Going into the match, Drexel controlled its own fate, as a win over the Cougars would net the team another CAA title. There was no fooling this experienced team; the Dragons knew the stakes and came out firing.

“I don’t think it was anything more than the fact that we knew what this game meant,” head coach Doug Hess commented on the preparedness of the Dragons. “If we win, we play at home in a week, and we have a week off to prepare and rest and recover. [But] when you’ve got a trophy staring you in your face, that’s enough incentive.”

Drexel spat five shots on goal at CofC senior goalkeeper Kees Heemskerk, who had just been named to the National Team of the Week by College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer. One of those five shots eluded Heemskerk, which came off the head of senior midfielder Jared Girard.

In the 42nd minute, the Dragons were on the attack. Senior defender Skylar Olson gave the ball out wide right to freshman midfielder Adam Arana deep in the Cougars’ attacking zone. Arana laid a pristine cross right in front of the cage, and Girard made solid contact to direct the ball into the far-left side of the twine.

“Jared has really been pushing in training the last several weeks, scoring goals,” Hess said. “We’ve been using him like he’s been scoring these goals in training. We hoped he would be able to put it together in a game, and there it was, a great goal.”

Just 10 minutes after halftime, Drexel got a much-needed insurance goal after a spectacular individual effort from forward Phil Hagerty. The pink-shoed senior got possession in the box and used every trick in the book to break free of one-on-one coverage with a CofC defender. He got just a sliver of room and put a hard, low ball right in front of the net. Junior midfielder Guido Pena was stationed on the back post to deflect it past Heemskerk for a 2-0 lead in the 55th minute.

It was then defensive mode for the Dragons, who conceded a goal in the 88th minute to junior midfielder Troy Peterson after a scrum in front of the net. Drexel freshman goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach made four saves on the night out of five shots on goal and allowed the lone Cougars score to cross the goal line by just a few inches.

As the rain came down on Patriots Point Soccer Stadium, the Dragons held on to their one-goal lead after a final push from CofC. The final buzzer sounded, and Drexel rushed to the center of the pitch to embrace as a team that had successfully defended its conference crown.

The importance of winning the regular-season title can’t be undersold. With a poor out-of-conference record of 4-6-1, there’s no way the Dragons are getting into the NCAA Tournament on an at-large bid. Hosting the conference tournament gives them a slight upper hand at getting in the field of 48, but winning it won’t be easy.

“The reality is that we’re in a situation where we have to win. We have to win to continue to advance; we get that,” Hess said after the 2-1 victory. “The good thing is that we get to sit back and watch the game on Saturday and see what happens.”

In their semifinal pairing at Vidas Field, the Dragons will host the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup between the University of Delaware and Northeastern University. On the other side, the No. 2 University of North Carolina Wilmington will face the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 battle of The College of William & Mary and Hofstra University. Both preliminary matches will be played Nov. 9 at the sites of the higher-seeded teams.

“We know we’re [going to] have a quality opponent in either Delaware or Northeastern; we’re [going to] have our hands full with either of those opponents,” Hess said. “But we got results against both of those teams [earlier this season], so we should have confidence going into that game.”

In last year’s conference tournament on Drexel’s home turf, Northeastern took home the trophy by beating Hofstra in overtime, just days after the Pride stunned Hess’ squad on penalty kicks. By winning, the Huskies became the seventh different program to win the CAA in seven years. That’s parity for you.

This season, the Dragons had the bull’s-eye on their backs, and they did it again, repeating as CAA regular-season champions. Will they be able to follow it up with a conference tournament double-dip? Drexel is hungry to win, and this stellar senior class isn’t ready to lose. Competition brings out the best in this club, and their CAA foes will bring their best to the pitch next weekend at Vidas Field with everything on the line.

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[media-credit name=”Ajon Brodie” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] Sophomore defenseman John Quigley defends the puck against West Chester University defenseman Jeff Dugan during the Rams’ 6-4 victory over the Dragons Oct. 26 at the Class of 1923 arena. Quigley has tallied two goals and two assists for Drexel this season.

“We hate them.”

It didn’t take much thought for Drexel club ice hockey captain Andrew MacBride to express the relationship between his Dragons and their opponent, West Chester University.

Really, the words themselves weren’t necessary — although it did bring a smirk to his face to actually say it — because the Rams and Dragons had just shown their disdain for each other through 60 minutes of heated play Oct. 26 at the Class of 1923 Arena, which ultimately ended with a 6-4 West Chester win.

“Physical” wouldn’t begin to describe it. Neither would “chippy,” as that would still be a bit too understated. “Bloodthirsty,” perhaps, would probably be the best fit. The game featured more penalties than you could count on your fingers and toes.

“It’s definitely a heated rivalry,” head coach Kyle Zoldy said. “[But] it actually wasn’t as physical of a game as there has been in the past.”

Seriously?

He laughed and continued, “That says it all right there.”

However, most of the penalties came from aggressive, hard-nosed play rather than from dirty hits or cheap shots. It was obvious that Drexel and West Chester wanted the win more than anything and were trying, for the most part, to avoid putting each other on the power play.

The power play is where the Rams really won the game, as they scored three goals with the man advantage, compared to only one for the Dragons.

“I felt that we really … controlled play five-on-five. We worked well in the corners, forechecked hard and got at lot of chances all night,” Zoldy said. “The game unfortunately came down to special teams, and they got a couple more power-play goals than we did tonight.”

At even strength, the Dragons thoroughly dictated play of the game. Overall, Drexel outshot West Chester 44-25, including jumping out to a 27-10 lead in shots near the beginning of the second period. But despite this advantage, Rams goaltender Michael Rice kept the puck out of the net, and his team jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

The Dragons finally got on the board when sophomore defenseman Zach Paro sniped the first goal of his college career, following with a spectacular hand-waving-like-a-goal-siren celebration while being mobbed by his teammates.

The teams each scored two more goals to conclude the second period, which ended with West Chester on top 5-3. Drexel’s goals came from sophomore forward Nick Lombardi on a deflection from behind the net and junior forward Marco Gagliardi, who deposited a shot from about 20 feet following a rebound.

“We’ve been preaching right from the get-go here that we want guys going hard to the net,” Zoldy said. “We’ve been stressing: Shoot pucks to the net; guys drive the net. And we get dirty goals, dirty rebounds.”

Sophomore forward Matt Williams scored a power-play goal early in the third period to cut the deficit to one, but the Dragons could get no closer. With sophomore goaltender Zach Kantner pulled in the game’s final minute, a Drexel defender broke his stick on a one-timer attempt, and the Rams flicked a long shot into the empty net to clinch the win.

The game came as the second in a home-and-home series, with Drexel defeating the Rams in West Chester the night before by a score of 3-2. The Dragons were ecstatic going into the game, not only because they had the chance for a sweep but also because it was a special night for the team.

Each season, the Drexel senior class chooses a charity to support and raise money for through cooperation with the team. This year, MacBride and others chose Twin Peaks Cancer Foundation — specifically for breast cancer research — and “Pink In The Rink” was born.

The Dragons sported navy blue home jerseys accented with pink numbers, sleeves, shoulders and waistbands, with a pink breast cancer ribbon below the fire-breathing logo. Before the game, Drexel presented a $3,000 check to Twin Peaks, money that the team raised for the event.

“We had a pretty good turnout. … Overall, it was a big success,” team president Alec Artosky said. “It couldn’t have gone any better, except we didn’t win.”

Following the obligatory postgame handshakes between the two teams, the Dragons gathered together at center ice to take a team photo with their pink garb. Although it was for a good cause, you would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of the players smiling — understandably so following a tough loss to their huge rivals.

“We really gave everything we have,” MacBride said following the game. “We beat them last night, … so we knew it was [going to] be tough and they were [going to] come out hard. Even though we lost, I think everyone worked hard.”

His sentiments were absolutely backed up by Drexel’s play on the ice. Every shift, every jump over the boards was 100 percent effort from all 20 guys on the roster.

The happiness showed, like Paro’s exuberant celebration. The excitement showed, like the bench’s reaction following every big hit. The emotion showed, like the many stick smashes on the boards following West Chester goals. And the frustration was heard, like the F-bombs from the players that were occasionally audible enough for fans in the intimate building to hear.

The Dragons’ next home game at the Class of 1923 Arena is Nov. 9 against Lehigh University at 7:45 p.m. Give these guys a shot, because even though it isn’t the caliber of play that you might see at a Philadelphia Flyers game, you will surely appreciate the sheer desire shown on the ice.

Even though “Pink In The Rink” night is over, maybe it meant more for this hardworking team than raising money for a good cause. It was appropriate that the Dragons sported pink on their jerseys, because this team surely wears its heart on its sleeves.

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[media-credit name=”Ajon Brodie” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] Senior Nathan Page controls possession during Drexel’s 1-0 win over La Salle University Sept. 17. The midfielder is tied for the team lead in goals this season with four.

In collegiate sports, conference games are generally more important than those of the out-of-conference variety. This surely rings true for the Drexel men’s soccer team, which is now 3-0-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play and 4-6-1 when playing teams outside of the conference.

For the middle two matches in a four-match road trip, the Dragons traveled Oct. 19 to the University of Delaware and Oct. 22 to the University of Maryland in hopes of snagging six points from two outstanding opponents. But after defeating the Blue Hens by a score of 2-1, Drexel suffered a 1-0 loss to the No. 12 Terrapins in College Park, Md.

In the showdown against bitter rival Delaware, the Blue Hens came out firing, but it was the Dragons who drew first blood. Drexel freshman goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach faced three shots on goal from freshman forward Guillermo Delgado in the first six minutes of the match and turned away all three.

Junior midfielder Michele Pataia notched his first score of the season for the Dragons on a breakaway opportunity sprung by senior defender Skylar Olson in the 19th minute. Following the 1-0 lead, Drexel looked to tack on another goal before halftime, but Delaware junior goalkeeper Borja Barbero made three saves in the next 10 minutes to keep his team’s deficit at one.

Twenty-three minutes into the second half, Pataia fed a breakaway to senior midfielder Nathan Page, who finished the opportunity.

The Englishman’s fourth score gave Drexel a 2-0 lead, but just two minutes later, the Blue Hens struck back. Delgado scored his CAA-leading 11th goal of the season to bring Delaware within one with just over 20 minutes remaining.

The Dragons held on to that lead, surviving one more opportunity from Delgado with one minute left to secure the 2-1 win and stay undefeated in conference play. In conjunction with Northeastern University’s 1-0 loss to The College of William & Mary, Drexel was all alone in first place on the conference.

The Dragons then visited No. 12 Maryland to play their last out-of-conference match of the season. In their previous three matches, the dangerous Terrapins had tallied 11 total goals but went 1-1-1 while giving up seven goals of their own.

Oddly enough, the first half ended in a scoreless tie. Drexel captain Tal Bublil made a glorious move to keep Maryland from scoring when he headed a ball off the goal line that seemed destined for the back of the net. Maryland freshman midfielder Michael Sauers beat the keeper but was denied by Bublil in the 29th minute.

Even though the Terrapins outshot the Dragons 9-2 in the half, the one that Bublil stopped was the only one that went on goal. It was much of the same as the teams came out of their locker rooms, with Maryland attempting seven second-half shots to Drexel’s one.

It was the 16th and final shot that ultimately did the Dragons in. Terrapins senior forward Sunny Jane finished a cross from senior forward Patrick Mullins in the 77th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead for good. Pataia had the lone shot on goal for Drexel, but it was turned aside by Maryland freshman goalkeeper Zach Steffen.

With the loss, the Dragons missed out on their last opportunity to secure a major win that might have propelled them into the conversation for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, Drexel can build upon its 3-0-1 conference record, which currently leads the Colonial Athletic Association, and hope to repeat as regular-season champions. If the Dragons were to repeat, they would once again host the CAA Tournament in addition to having another banner fly at Vidas Field.

The Dragons will round out their road trip with a match Oct. 26 at James Madison University. The Dukes currently sit in last place in the CAA with a conference record of 0-4, following a 6-2-2 campaign last season.

Then, Drexel will return home for the annual Senior Night, this time against Hofstra University. It was the Pride who ended the Dragons’ bid for a CAA Tournament title at Vidas Field last year in devastating fashion: a loss on penalty kicks.

At this point in the season, the Dragons have to put their struggles against out-of-conference opponents aside and focus on the task ahead. Sitting at the top of the CAA standings with three conference matches remaining, the Dragons now control their own destiny toward a regular-season championship.

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During halftime of a Sunday Night Football game Oct. 13 between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins, sportscaster Bob Costas used his on-air time to speak about the demeaning nature of the nickname “Redskins,” calling it an “insult” and a “slur” to the Native American population.

Although Costas’ argument is one that has been heard before, considering the gravity of the situation, he made the statement that it was an important topic that he wanted to discuss here and now. Between topics like inappropriate nicknames, openly gay athletes, player safety and much more, it’s becoming more and more obvious that sport means more to the world than just wins and losses.

[media-credit name=”WFUV/Flickr” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] 1

With that in mind, the Drexel University Sport Management Student Union is presenting the first annual Sport For Social Change Conference. The event, which will be held Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the James E. Marks Intercultural Center, will consist of five guest speakers and light refreshments over the course of the day.

“The goal for the conference is to answer the question: ‘How can we move society forward in a positive direction via sports?’” Kevin Murray, vice president of SMTSU, said. “The inspiration for this conference comes from the desire of the SMTSU to promote positive and meaningful conversation about the impact of sport in the societal realm.”

In order to project viewpoints on various controversial and relevant topics in sports, the lineup for the event will consist of Eric Zillmer, director of athletics at Drexel; Jim Britt of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation; Eli Wolff of Brown University; Craig Cassey Jr. and Anna Aagenes of Go Athletes; and Patrick Hruby of Sports on Earth.

These topics will include athletes giving back and being role models; youth development in sports; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in sports; access to sports for disabled athletes; and safety issues in sports.

“We had actually thought about running this event last year, but we wanted to take our time and put together the best event we could,” Kevin Rossi, president of SMTSU, said. “It has been a lot of hard work for everyone involved but certainly one of the most rewarding experiences that [we have] had together as a group.”

SMTSU’s leadership group, along with the help of faculty adviser Ellen Staurowsky, was able to extend invitations and attract keynote speakers to the event.

Staurowsky, who is a professor in the sport management department, has 35 years of experience in higher education and has published numerous research papers on social problems and their potential solutions in sports, said that the conference was of a national caliber.

“Anyone who has an interest in how sport can be used as a vehicle to contribute positively to the social good will find something of interest in this conference,” she said.

The idea for this conference really spurred from a May 25 speaking event that featured “Survivor: Africa” winner Ethan Zohn hosted by the SMTSU and The Good Idea Fund. Zohn used his winnings from “Survivor” to begin Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit that uses soccer as a vehicle to educate people in Africa about AIDS.

“The message that he passed along got us thinking about other ways that sports can help society progress,” Rossi said. “We wanted to continue on with that message of positive change and educate more people on the power of sports.”

The Sport For Social Change Conference is free to all attendees, and Drexel students are encouraged to stop by at any point during the day. Anybody who is interested in volunteering or learning more about the event can visit www.S4SCConference.blogspot.com.

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[media-credit name=”Ajon Brodie” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] Senior Jared Girard keeps possession during Drexel’s 1-0 win over La Salle University Sept. 17 at Vidas Field. The midfielder has contributed one goal and one assist for the Dragons so far this season.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

After being shut out in two consecutive matches against Temple University and Princeton University, the Drexel men’s soccer team has now shut out its opponents in each of the last two matches. These strong defensive efforts resulted in a scoreless draw vs. Northeastern University and a 2-0 win over the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

When the Dragons hosted the Huskies at Vidas Field Oct. 12, the home team faced a difficult task. Drexel had not earned a point against Northeastern since 2008, losing four consecutive matches against them in the process.

But the Dragons faced the challenge head-on, even though they had lost three consecutive matches. Because Drexel came into the match with a 5-5-1 overall record, the team’s chances of earning a second consecutive NCAA Tournament at-large bid were all but gone.

For that reason, it is now necessary for the Dragons to win the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament to earn an automatic bid. A positive result against the conference-favorite Huskies would go a long way toward making that dream a reality.

After 110 minutes of play, through both halves and two overtimes, neither team scored and the match ended in a draw. Each goalkeeper — sophomore Dylan Faber for Northeastern and freshman Tyler Afflerbach for Drexel — made five saves to post clean sheets.

Following the match, Drexel senior defender Tal Bublil explained that the key to keeping the Huskies off the board was staying focused, being aggressive and competing for every ball, something the team had been lacking during its recent rough patch.

The Dragons surely were not satisfied with just one point in the standings, but as head coach Doug Hess explained after the match, it was nice to finally break the losing streak.

“You want to win against good competition, so we’re not [going to] rest on getting a point off of Northeastern,” he said. “But in the same breath, sometimes you need a point, particularly when you’ve given away nine in the past three [matches].”

Bublil, the Drexel team captain, had similar comments, considering it was the first time in his and Hess’ careers that their squad did not lose to the Huskies.

“We are actually never satisfied with a tie, with getting one point,” the team captain said. “But in Doug’s time here, that’s the first point we actually got against them, so I think overall it’s a good result.”

Coming off that good result, the Dragons began a four-match road trip Oct. 16 against UNCW and came out on top by a score of 2-0. Junior midfielders John Grosh and Guido Pena each scored to defeat the Seahawks, along with eight big saves from Afflerbach.

In the 34th minute, Grosh gobbled up a ball at the top of the box and let loose a shot that eluded UNCW sophomore goalkeeper Sam Williams to give Drexel a 1-0 lead. Then, just 4:35 into the second half, Pena headed in a cross from senior midfielder Ken Tribbett to give the Dragons a 2-0 advantage, a lead they would hold until the final buzzer sounded.

Following Pena’s goal, Afflerbach was challenged with four shots on goal from the Seahawks and was up to the task on each one. The freshman recorded his fifth shutout of the season in 10 starts, improving his record to 6-3-1. Of the six Dragons wins with Afflerbach in net, four have been of the shutout variety.

With four points in the last two matches, Drexel has jumped to second place in the CAA standings with a 2-0-1 record in conference play. It now seems like the Dragons have kicked into gear in one way or another, but Hess refused to acknowledge momentum playing a role in the ultimate direction of his team.

“Whether we’re back in form or not in form, we’re a team that can win and go off on another five-game win streak at any point,” Hess said. “We’re good enough to win plenty in a row. … So it’s just about getting through the difficult moments and being strong enough mentally.”

Some of those difficult moments included having to tell Bublil and Tribbett to sit out, something that was a foreign idea to Hess. But with a strained shoulder, Bublil rested during Drexel’s losses to Temple and Princeton, and with a few general injuries of his own, Tribbett also did not play against the Tigers.

Back and ready to take the CAA by storm, Hess stressed that it is important for the Dragons to realize that they cannot change any result, asking his team to move forward and just focus on the matches that are in front of them.

Upcoming matches include trips to the University of Delaware Oct. 19 and the University of Maryland Oct. 22. The Blue Hens had a seven-match win streak snapped by Northeastern Oct. 16, but they still hold a 10-2 overall record and sit just outside the top 25 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America coaches poll. It is also important to mention that Delaware holds a 6-0 record at home this season.

Meanwhile, taking three points from their visit to College Park, Md., will be a daunting task for Drexel, as the Terrapins are ranked No. 4 in the nation with a 5-2-5 overall record. Maryland will be the highest-ranked road opponent for the Dragons since they visited No. 6 Creighton University in 2011 and lost by a score of 3-0 to the Bluejays.

With those matchups posing as tall tasks for the Dragons, we will have to wait and see if Drexel can keep those tables turned against some hungry competition.

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Something must be in the water at Vidas Field, or maybe there has been a bad batch of Wheaties going around. Perhaps, most realistically, someone put a hex on the Dragons, because suddenly, none of the Drexel athletic teams can score goals!

Women’s soccer has been shut out in four consecutive matches, and field hockey put up a goose egg against Rutgers University in their last game. Someone figure this out, quickly!

Men’s soccer was also unable to break the spell, as the Dragons were held scoreless in both of their matches this week. Drexel lost to Temple University and Princeton University, dropping to an overall record of 5-5-1 in the process.

Following a tough 3-2 loss Oct. 2 to the cross-street rival University of Pennsylvania, the Dragons looked to get back on track against Temple. The Owls, however, had other plans, beating Drexel 2-0 on goals by junior midfielder Willie Chalfant and senior forward Vaughn Spurrier.

In the first half, the Dragons peppered Temple goalkeeper Dan Scheck with five shots on goal, but the junior was able to turn all of them aside. Meanwhile, Chalfant was the beneficiary of a golden opportunity in the box, depositing a rebound into the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.

The second goal from the Owls came from Spurrier, who was able to work the ball around multiple Drexel defenders and beat freshman goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach inside the far post in the 63rd minute. The match ended up quite evenly, in terms of statistics, with Temple registering 17 shots to the Dragons’ 18 and each team earning three corner kicks.

With a quick turnaround, Drexel traveled to New Jersey Oct. 8 to face Princeton for a night game. The Tigers shut down the Dragons once again, winning by a score of 1-0 with a second-half goal by sophomore forward Thomas Sanner.

Through a scoreless first half, Drexel and Princeton each mustered only two attempted shots with one shot on goal apiece, both of which were turned away by the opposing goalkeeper.

The only real scoring chance for the Dragons in the first half, and over the course of the entire match, was when sophomore forward Joaquin del Rosario chipped a ball over sophomore goalkeeper Ben Hummel, who came out to challenge. But a Tigers defender shuffled the ball out of trouble and tallied a team save in the process.

But in the second half, the field was tilted drastically toward the Dragons’ end of the field, with the Tigers tallying 11 shots. Two of those shots got to Afflerbach, and one of them got past, which proved to be the difference. In an extraordinary individual effort, Sanner muscled through two Drexel defenders near the goal line and curled in toward the net. He got off a high shot to the far post that eluded the arms of the goalkeeper to put Princeton ahead in the 59th minute.

That would be all the scoring, as Drexel fell to the Tigers 1-0 in a match without some of its top players. Seniors Tal Bublil and Ken Tribbett did not play, and Nathan Page came off the bench as a replacement in the 74th minute.

But the Dragons expect to have their regular starters back for a prime matchup with Northeastern University, the preseason favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association. The Huskies visit Vidas Field Oct. 12 for a late-afternoon start time of 4 p.m.

Last season, Northeastern won three games on Drexel’s home turf. One was a 2-1 win over the Dragons in the regular season on Oct. 3, and the other two were to win the CAA Tournament in November.

Even though Northeastern is 5-4-2 on the season, goals may be hard to come by for Drexel, which is bad news considering the funk they are in. The Huskies have only allowed 10 total goals and have not conceded more than two goals in any match. Maybe some Cap’n Crunch will be on the pregame menu for the Dragons. Perhaps that will do the trick.

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[media-credit name=”Ajon Brodie” align=”alignleft” width=”300″] Dragons defender Skylar Olson is a starter in his senior season for head coach Doug Hess. With the 3-2 loss to Penn, Drexel falls to 5-3-1 on the season with a home match against city rival Temple upcoming on Saturday.

When a rivalry game comes up on the schedule, everything goes out the window. Team records don’t matter. Winning streaks don’t matter. Losing streaks don’t matter. All that matters is the score as the final buzzer sounds.

Coming off a 2-1 win Sept. 28 over The College of William & Mary, the Drexel men’s soccer team held a five-match winning streak and was confident that its play was beginning to heat up following an 0-2-1 start to the season. The Dragons strolled down 33rd Street to Rhodes Field to take on the University of Pennsylvania in what seemed to be a mismatch on paper, but the rivalry game mantra held true.

“Penn has had an up-and-down go right now, but they’re our cross-street neighbors, so that’s [going to] be a grind,” head coach Doug Hess said before the matchup, assuring that his team would not take the Quakers for granted. “It was a one-goal game last year; we know it’s [going to] be a tight game this year.”

The Quakers, carrying a six-match losing streak, stunned the visiting Dragons Oct. 2 by a score of 3-2 and sent the visitors back up the street with a tally in the loss column. Penn’s win served as some payback for a 2-1 loss last season, which was Drexel’s first victory in the series since 1990.

Three times during the match, the Quakers were able to cash in on one-on-one opportunities against freshman goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach in the Dragons’ box. In the 19th minute, junior midfielder Duke Lacroix caught up to a beautiful through pass by freshman forward Alex Neumann. Lacroix dribbled around a challenge by Afflerbach and deposited it into a wide-open net.

The match reached halftime with a 1-0 score, and it remained that way until the 68th minute when Penn struck again. This time, freshman forward Sam Hayward received a pass on the left side of the box and struck a liner through the Drexel defense and past a diving keeper for a 2-0 lead.

Then the Dragons finally got on the board. Junior defender Robert Liberatore put a free kick into a trouble area, and senior midfielder Ken Tribbett finished with a header to bring Drexel within one goal in the 76th minute. It was the third consecutive game with a goal from Tribbett, who has racked up the accolades recently, earning Colonial Athletic Association and Philly Soccer 6 player of the week honors, as well as being named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week.

But just when the Dragons got back into it, the Quakers added another goal. It was from Hayward again, as he weaved his way through the Drexel defense and beat Afflerbach on a nifty low shot to the keeper’s left. It was a backbreaking score, as it came only 55 seconds after Tribbett’s goal and put Penn ahead, 3-1.

With a sense of desperation, the Dragons earned another goal, this time off the foot of senior midfielder Jared Girard, who poked through a shot after a scrum in the box. Liberatore tallied his second assist of the match on the goal in the 88th minute, but that would be the end of the day’s scoring.

The three goals allowed to Penn were more than the Dragons had given up in the entirety of their five-game winning streak. But even though it was an impressive offensive showing from the Quakers, their game MVP had to be sophomore goalkeeper Max Polkinhorne, who stopped seven of nine shots on goal from a pressuring Drexel team, with many of the saves being of the diving or leaping variety.

As disappointing it was for the streak to end, the fifth and final match of that streak against William & Mary was one of the most exciting wins of the season. The Tribe was coming off a three-match winning streak against ranked opponents, two of which were No. 1 in the country at the time.

Hess commented on the hottest team in the country coming in, which would, in hindsight, resonate to Drexel’s matchup against Penn a few days later. “We weren’t so concerned with who they beat or who they didn’t beat. It’s soccer; anyone can beat anyone.”

As it has proved in the past, Vidas Field was not a welcoming place for the opponent. Although the Tribe got out to a lead in the 17th minute on a beautiful cross from junior midfielder Chris Albiston to junior forward Josh West, the Dragons answered right back.

Senior forward Nathan Page fed a ball through the William & Mary defense that found junior midfielder Maty Brennan all alone with the keeper. He stayed composed and finished under the outstretched arms of freshman Mac Phillips to tie the match at 1-1 in the 19th minute.

“We are in a good streak of wins that gives you the confidence to try stuff and play differently,” junior midfielder Michele Pataia said about the team’s creativity and confidence in playing together. “We’re pretty much the same team as last year and that helps building and getting to know each other.”

But Drexel was not satisfied, as just 11 minutes later, Tribbett intercepted a Tribe pass attempt and rushed up the field. He let a shot fly from 25 yards out that deflected off the head of a William & Mary defender, changed directions and fluttered into the net for a 2-1 lead.

“You leave a clear path for Ken Tribbett. I’ve never seen a kid clip a ball so clean with either foot in my time as a coach,” Hess said about his goal-scoring senior. “Any time there’s a ball bouncing and [he] gets a volley, our entire coaching staff thinks, ‘That’s a goal.’”

Up to that point, the Tribe had been sloppy, but the deficit seemed to inspire them to put on pressure for the final 15 minutes of the half. But Afflerbach and the Dragons defense stood tall for the rest of the half and the rest of the match, as the final score stood from the 30th minute, making Tribbett’s goal the game-winner.

Not only did it extend the winning streak, but it also meant that Drexel holds a 1-0 record in CAA play, a conference that Hess has called one of the most competitive in the country. Although a loss to Penn hurts the ultimate chances of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid, being able to host and win the CAA Tournament in November takes care of that, no questions asked.

With two more matches to round out the out-of-conference schedule, against Temple University at home and Princeton University on the road, the Dragons must get back to their winning ways in time for the remainder of conference play. The next CAA opponent, preseason favorite Northeastern University, looms on the schedule for an Oct. 12 matchup at Vidas Field. Drexel will need to play its best in order to beat the best.

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