Men's Lacrosse Season Ends in CAA Semis at Towson, 8-4

Thursday, May 4

Towson, MD

5:00

Drexel University

6-8

#12 Towson

9-4

Drexel

Towson

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Lacrosse Season Ends in CAA Semis at Towson, 8-4

5/4/2017 6:45:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

Towson, Md. - Drexel had its 2017 season come to a close with an 8-4 loss at Towson, in the CAA semifinals on Thursday evening. The Tigers will advance to play the winner of the Hofstra-UMass game in the CAA title game on Saturday afternoon. Drexel ends the year with a 6-8 record.

The Tigers (9-4), who entered the game ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense, held the Drexel offense in check for most of the night. Towson dominated possession, winning 14 of the 16 face-offs. Drexel was able to stay into the game in large part to its defense and the goalkeeping of Jimmy Joe Granito. The senior from New Canaan, Conn. showed why he was a First Team All-CAA pick as he turned aside 18 shots. The 18 saves were the most ever for a Drexel goalie in a CAA Tournament game.

Marshal King led the Dragons offense with two goals and an assist. Mike Lynch had the same for Towson, while Tyler Young and Tyler Konen each scored twice.

The Tigers won the opening draw of the game but were stopped when Granito came up with a save. However, Granito turned it over and the Tigers got possession back before the Dragons could cross midfield. Tyler Konen drove from goal line extended past a Drexel defender to make it a 1-0 game. The score stayed that way until the 5:05 mark of the first quarter, when the Dragons tied it up. King and Reid Bowering worked the give-and-go to perfection as King scored his 11th of the season.

Drexel took its only lead of the contest early in the second quarter. The Dragons were in transition and Cam Harris shook off a defender and broke in alone from the right side. He beat Matt Hoy high, making it 2-1. The lead didn't last long as Ryan Drenner fed Lynch from behind the net to make it 2-2 at the 10:40 mark. With the assist, Drenner extended his point streak to 26 straight game. Lynch gave the Tigers the lead for good when he dodged a Drexel defender and fired a shot past Granito from the right alley with 6:02 remaining in the quarter. The Tigers added another to make it 4-2 on a Tyler Young score that came from almost the same spot as Lynch's second goal.

In the third quarter Towson picked up where it left off, scoring its fifth goal of the game just 38 seconds into the frame. Lynch set up Konen for his second of the day. Less than two minutes later the Tigers extended their lead to four goals when Young bounced a shot past Granito, putting the home team ahead 6-2. The Dragons were able to answer that goal with a nifty score of their own. Will Manganiello found King for a one-timer at the crease cutting the Towson lead to three with 6:41. The score remained that way until Towson added more insurance on a Jon Mazza unassisted score in the final minute, making it 7-3.

Drexel couldn't get back in the game despite Granito's strong play in the fourth quarter. The Dragons stopped the Tigers on a number of occasions, but gave the ball back four times in the final quarter. The Tigers put the game away when Joe Seider scored with under three minutes to play. The Dragons final goal of the year came on a Cole Shafer score with 1:20 to play. For Shafer, it was the 119th goal of his career, which leaves him in sixth place on Drexel's career goals list.

Granito and King were each named to the CAA's All-Tournament team.