Men's Soccer Denied Late on Senior Night, 1-0

Tuesday, October 24

Vidas Field

7 p.m.

Drexel University

2-12-1

La Salle (Senior Day)

7-8-1

La Salle

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Soccer Denied Late on Senior Night, 1-0

10/24/2017 9:25:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – A Senior Night clean sheet was not to be despite an outstanding performance by senior goalkeeper Jacob Jordan as the Drexel men's soccer team fell to La Salle at Vidas Field on Tuesday night, 1-0. The Explorers scored in the midst of a scrum in front of the net in the 87th minute after Jordan had come up with nine saves to that point.

Pat McCarthy scored the game-winning goal for the Explorers on a header from point blank range. The ball was sent into the box by Hayden Criollo on a free kick from 35 yards away. It found the head of Johnny Ciarlante, who bumped it over to McCarthy for the goal.

A scoreless game for the first 87 minutes nearly went into overtime anyway as Drexel senior Tristan Thompson nearly posted a highlight-reel goal seconds later after the ball was put back in play. Thompson positioned himself 10 yards from the goal and, on a hall ball sent into the box, leapt and redirected it with the back of his foot. La Salle's Mark Tobin just barely nicked the ball and sent it over the crossbar and out of play, denying the equalizer.

The game was preceded by a ceremony honoring the Dragons' six seniors – Erik Alexandersson, Xavier Bou Hernandez, Connor Ryan, Dakota Peterson, Jordan and Thompson – as they played their final game at Vidas Field. Five of those six started, with Ryan out due to an interview with a prestigious postgraduate program.

The Dragons were outshot 20-6 overall on the evening and managed just two shots on goal, with Thompson's late attempt joined by a Laolu Daranijo blast earlier in the game. Meanwhile, the Explorers' potent offense kept Jordan busy in goal. He had two saves in the first half and seven in the second, including a pair within seconds of each other as the Explorers charged downfield early in the second half. Jordan now has 97 saves on the year, the most in Division I men's soccer to date in 2017.

Drexel will wrap up its season with a pair of road games over the course of the next week. First is the team's Colonial Athletic Association finale at James Madison on Saturday night. That game, originally scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff, has been pushed back to an 8 p.m. start. The Dragons will also visit Princeton next Tuesday at 7 p.m.