Drexel University
Delaware (Semifinals)
Delaware Defeats Men's Lax in CAA Semis, 11-7
5/2/2007 10:36:52 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Philadelphia – Delaware scored five straight goals to break a 2-2 tie and held Drexel without a goal for a stretch of more than 35 minutes as the Blue Hens defeated the Dragons, 11-7. With the victory, Delaware (10-5) advanced to the CAA Finals. The Dragons (11-5) rallied to cut the lead to two goals twice in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Hens won the ensuing face offs and countered with goals of their own on each occasion.
Drexel's offense, which struggled for most of the contest, came to life in the fourth quarter. The Dragons were down 7-2 entering the final period. They scored three straight goals in a five-minute stretch to make it a 7-5 game. Greg Casey started the run at the 12:35 mark. Kevin Dart scored a short-handed goal a few minutes later and Andrew Chapman closed the run with 7:58 left. However, Delaware's Alex Smith, the top face-off man in the nation, stopped the momentum just 14 seconds later. Smith won the draw cleanly, raced into the Drexel end and beat Drexel's Bruce Bickford to make it 8-5. Drexel freshman Dan Layfield made it a two-goal game once again with a goal at the 6:10 mark, but Smith again won the draw and set up Adam Zuder-Havens for his third goal of the game. Chris Dickson's unassisted goal with 4:43 left gave the Hens a 10-6 lead. The Dragons made one last push when Mike Filippone set up Greg Casey on the man-up to cut the lead to three with three minutes to play, but Zuder-Havens fourth goal iced the game with just under two minutes to go.
Delaware raced out to an early 2-0 lead as Adam Zuder-Havens scored twice within a span of 45 seconds. Drexel answered with a man-up goal from Joe Variano, who was playing in the place of injured starter Colin Ambler, and an even-strength goal by Bryan Brodzik. That would be the last goal the Dragons would score until the early stages of the fourth quarter. Delaware's Jordan Hall gave the Blue Hens the lead for good with 30 seconds left in the quarter and the Hens scored two unanswered goals in both the second and third quarters to take control of the game.
Tommy Scherr made 12 saves for the Blue Hens, while Drexel's Bickford recorded 10 saves. Kevin Kaminski had two goals for Delaware, while Vincent Giordano and Smith each had two points. Drexel's Chapman, who entered the game leading the CAA in goals, was held to just a goal and an assist.
Scoring Summary
UD 3-2-2-4---11
DU 2-0-0-5---7
Individual Scoring
Delaware: Adam Zuder-Havens 4-1, Kevin Kaminski 2-0, Vincent Giordano 1-1, Alex Smith 1-1, Curtis Dickson 1-0, Dan Deckelbaum 1-0, Jordan Hall 1-0, Sean Calabrese 0-1. Saves: Tommy Scherr 12.
Drexel: Greg Casey 2-0, Andrew Chapman 1-1, Kevin Dart 1-0, Dan Layfield 1-0, Joe Variano 1-0, Bryan Brodzik 1-0, Ron Garling 0-1, Jon Van Houten 0-1, Mike Filippone 0-1. Saves: Bruce Bickford 10.
Shots: UD 33, DU 46
Groundballs: UD 29, DU 22
Face-offs: UD 13, DU 9
Extra-man scoring: UD 1-9, DU 2-8
Penalties: UD 8-5:30, DU 9-6:30
