Bowering Scores Six as Dragons Defeat No. 14 Villanova, 15-12

Sunday, March 8

Saint Joseph's University

12 p.m.

Drexel University

3-3

Villanova

4-3

DREXEL

Villanova

Bowering Scores Six as Dragons Defeat No. 14 Villanova, 15-12

3/8/2020 3:03:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Reid Bowering scored six goals and Ross Blumenthal made 14 saves as Drexel defeated No. 14 Villanova, 15-12, at Sweeney Field on the campus of Saint Joseph's University. Drexel (3-3) trailed by a goal midway through the fourth quarter, but scored four unanswered goals down the stretch as they picked up a victory in the Philly 4 Lacrosse Classic. They outscored the Wildcats (4-3) 6-2 in the final 15 minutes.

Bowering now has 20 goals this season and 122 in his career. He is tied for second all-time at Drexel in career goals with Tom Charno, who played from 1983-1987. Matthew Varian handed out four assists and also had a goal. The senior now has 166 career points, which is eighth all-time at Drexel. Varian passed Bob Hoover, Ryan Belka and Jeff Miller in today's win. Jack Mulcahy had a goal and two assists, while Casey Waller scored a pair of goals and finished with three points.

Villanova jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Drexel answered with three straight goals. Bowering had two goals, the second on the man-up, sandwiched around a goal by Waller, who had seen limited time prior to the game against the Wildcats. Patrick Daly tied it up with a goal with 3:06 to play in the quarter, but Drexel scored a pair of quick goals to take a 5-3 lead after one period. Chris McLallen scored on the man-up at the 1:46 mark, and just 12 seconds later, Luke Hurley added another.

The second quarter saw nine goals scored, including five by Villanova. Connor Kirst scored the first goal of the quarter less than two minutes in before Drexel went on a 4-1 run to take a 9-5 lead. Varian started the run with an unassisted goal and then set up Bowering on the man-up. After a Drexel penalty, Corey McManus cut the lead to 7-5. However, Drexel answered with another Bowering goal and after a face-off win, Varian found Ryan Genord and the Dragons lead stretched to four. The cushion didn't last for long as Matt Campbell scored back-to-back extra-man goals and when Luke Prybylski found the net with 45 second to go in the half, the 'Cats were down just one. At the close of the period, Drexel's Bowering was assessed a two-minute penalty and the Wildcats found themselves with a man advantage to start the third. Campbell got his third extra-man goal of the night and it was all tied up at 9-9 early in the third.

The teams were finally at even strength when Keegan Khan made it a five-goal run to give Villanova a 10-9 lead. That would conclude the scoring in the third as both team's defenses started to settle in. The two squads alternated the next four goals before Bowering set up Waller to even the score at 12-12. Two minutes later, Drexel scored what proved to be the game-winner as Varian found Jack Mulcahy to make it 13-12. It was Varian's fourth assist of the night. Drexel scored an insurance goal with 1:14 to go when Aidan Coll got Drexel's fourth man-up goal of the game. Bowering scored goal number six on the day in the closing seconds as Drexel defeated its first nationally-ranked team this season.

The Dragons were a perfect 15-for-15 on their clear attempts and committed just 11 turnovers against Villanova. Blumenthal had eight of his 14 saves in the second half as he picked up a win against the 'Cats for the second straight season. Villanova won 16 of the 30 face-offs, although Drexel won six of the 10 in the final 30 minutes.

The Wildcats, who came into the game with two top 10 wins including a 12-10 win against No. 9 Penn Friday, were led by Patrick Daly, who had two goals to go along with five assists. Campbell had four goals, while Khan had four points.

Drexel is off until Saturday when it faces Binghamton at Vidas Field.