Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
#3 Virginia (CN8)
No. 3 Virginia's Second-Half Run Downs No. 18 Drexel, 11-7
2/17/2008 5:35:41 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Philadelphia – Virginia scored four straight second half goals to break a 6-6 tie as the third-ranked Cavaliers defeated No. 18 Drexel, 11-7, in front of a capacity crowd of 2,500 at Vidas Field. It was the season-opener for both teams.
Garrett Billings, who had three goals and seven points in the game, set up Gavin Gill for an extra-man goal three minutes into the third period to give Virginia a 7-6 lead. The Cavaliers would not trail again. Brian Carroll scored his third goal of the game on the man-up late in the third and Peter Lamade and Billings added goals early in the fourth to give the Cavaliers a 10-6 lead. Virginia's extra-man offense was the key to the victory, as the unit was perfect in four attempts with a man advantage.
The first half was played fairly even, but Drexel was called for two penalties late in the half and both times Virginia answered with goals. Brian Carroll was the recipient of both of the goals which put Virginia up at intermission, 6-5. That lead was short lived as Colin Ambler scored an unassisted goal in the opening minutes of the second half.
Drexel got the crowd behind them early with the first two goals of the game. Andrew Chapman scored at 8:08 and just two minutes later, Chris O'Connor scored off a feed from Colin Ambler. Virginia's Jack Riley and Peter Lamade answered back to tie it at the end of the first period.
Drexel goalkeeper Bruce Bickford again played well in the cage against one Virginia, making 15 saves. A year ago Bickford made 18 saves in the Dragons' victory in Charlottesville. Freshman Adam Ghitelman came up with nine stops against the Dragons. Virginia outshot Drexel, 40-35, and had the same margin in ground balls. Drexel won the face-off battle, 12-10. Sophomore Zak Fisher was 6-for-8 on draws for Drexel. Brian McDermott had nine of the 10 wins for Virginia.
Drexel returns to action on Feb. 23 at Penn. It will be the first meeting between the neighborhood rivals since the 1994 season. Virginia has its home opener next Saturday against Stony Brook.
Scoring Summary
UVA 2-4-2-3---11
DU 2-3-1-1---7
Individual Scoring
Virginia: Garrett Billings 3-4, Brian Carroll 3-1, Peter Lamade 2-1, Jack Riley 2-0, Danny Gladding 0-2, Gavin Gill 1-0, Max Pomper 0-1. Saves: Adam Ghitelman 9.
Drexel: Andrew Chapman 2-0, Colin Ambler 1-2, Ron Garling 1-1, Kevin Stockel 1-0, Greg Casey 1-0. Saves: Bruce Bickford 15.
Shots: UVA 40, DU 35
Groundballs: UVA 40, DU 35
Face-offs: UVA 10, DU 12
Extra-man scoring: UVA 4-4, DU 2-6
Penalties: UVA 6-4:30, DU 4-3:30
