Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
#20 Hofstra
Mens Lacrosse Defeats Hofstra For the First Time Ever, 8-7
4/28/2007 4:56:54 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Philadelphia – Drexel scored five times in the fourth quarter and rallied to defeat 20th-ranked Hofstra, 8-7, for the team's first ever win against the Pride. The Dragons, who entered the game ranked 17th in the latest USILA Coaches' Poll, had lost the previous 18 meetings between the two schools. With the victory, the Dragons improved to 5-1 in CAA play and 11-4 overall. They tied for the CAA regular-season championship with Towson and will be the second seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament.
Drexel trailed 6-3 at the end of three quarters as it appeared that the Pride would continue its domination of the Dragons. The Drexel offense came alive, however, and scored the next five goals of the game. Ron Garling started the run with a goal at the 13:26 mark of the fourth quarter on a feed from Joe Variano. Less than a minute later, Variano cut the lead to 6-5 with a goal set up by Jon Van Houten. Andrew Chapman then tied it and gave the Dragons a 7-6 lead with his 40th and 41st goals of the season. Variano then added his second of the game to make it 8-6. Drexel held Hofstra off the board until Tom Interlicchio made it 8-7 with 24 seconds remaining, but the Pride could not tie the game and the Dragons won for the 11th time this season. Bruce Bickford earned the win in the cage and made 10 saves for Drexel.
The Pride (6-7, 3-3 CAA) and the Dragons traded goals early before Anthony Muscarella put Hofstra up 4-2 with just under five minutes remaining in the half on a man-up situation. Drexel's Mike Filippone countered with his second goal of the half and the teams went to intermission with the Pride ahead, 4-3. Hofstra's defense, which entered the game tops in the CAA, allowing less than seven goals a game, held the Dragons off the board for the entire third quarter. Hofstra scored a pair of goals, one by Interlicchio and another by Ryan Miller, to take the three-goal lead into the final period.
Drexel won for the third time this season against a ranked team, which is the first time this has happened in Drexel lacrosse history. Drexel upset top-ranked Virginia in February and also defeated Delaware, then #14 in the country, on April 7.
Drexel will host Delaware, the third seed in the CAA Tournament, on Wednesday night at Vidas Field at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the field beginning at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the game. Hofstra, who earned a playoff spot with Villanova's loss to Sacred Heart, will travel to top-seeded Towson on Wednesday.
Scoring Summary
DU 2-0-1-6---9
HU 0-2-2-4---8
Individual Scoring
Drexel: Andrew Chapman 3-1, Joe Variano 2-1, Mike FIlippone 2-0, Ron Garling 1-0, Jon Van Houten 0-1. Saves: Bruce Bickford 10.
Hofstra: Tom Interlicchio 3-0, Ryan Miller 1-1, Tom Dooley 1-0, Anthony Muscarella 1-0, Bill Peters 1-0, Ryan Carter 0-1, Dan Stein 0-1, Mike Untersteing 0-1. Saves: Danny Orlando 12.
Shots: DU 34, HU 26
Groundballs: DU 22, HU 21
Face-offs: DU 12, HU 6
Extra-man scoring: DU 1-5, HU 2-5
Penalties: DU 5-3:00, HU 5-5:00
