PHILADELPHIA, PA 4/28/2012 – On a cold, windy Senior Day the Drexel Dragons men’s lacrosse team made a late charge to overcome the St. John’s Red Storm 10 – 9 at Vidas Field. Dragons leading scorer Junior attack Robert Church scored three goals and added three assists to boost his team leading point total to 42 for the season. Drexel Coach Brian Voelker said the Seniors will remember their final home game resulted in a hard-fought victory against a quality opponent.
“Our guys worked hard to get a win for the seniors,” Voelker said. “They (St. John’s) are a very good team, we told our guys that. The game was back and forth. They took a lead and our guys responded. We were good enough to make some plays at the end and win the game. I’m happy we got a “W” against a really good team.”
The game was even throughout with three being the largest lead. Drexel never trailed until the beginning of the fourth quarter when St. John’s got an Extra-man opportunity resulting in a goal by midfielder Ryan Fitzgerald with 10:31 on the clock. The Red Storm followed with another goal 31 seconds later by attack Harry Kutner, who scored 4 goals on the day, to give St. John’s a 9 – 7 lead. Drexel began their comeback less than a minute later when Senior midfielder Kyle Bergman scored unassisted to cut the deficit to one goal. Junior midfielder Aaron Prosser tied the game at the 8:07 mark. Just 13 seconds later Junior attack Brendan Glynn scored his second of the game and 20th of the season to give the Dragons the final margin of victory. St. John’s tried desperately to tie the game, but with 1:36 left to play Drexel got the ball on a turnover and kept it until only 4 seconds were left on the clock.
The back and forth nature of the game was fueled by the play of both goal keepers making key saves to keep the score close. Senior Mark Manos registered 13 saves while Jeff Lowman had 12 for the Red Storm. Drexel had 32 shots while St. John’s had 35.
“Both goalies played great,” said Voelker. “Their kid (Lowman) made a bunch of saves, Mark (Manos) made a bunch of saves. The guys shot the ball well, but their goalies really came up and did some nice things. We count on Mark to do a lot of things, and this was a good game for him.”
St. John’s finishes with a 7 – 6 record. The Red Storm will play in the Big East Tournament later this week. Drexel ends the season with a 7 – 7 record. The Dragons prepare for a CAA Tournament game on Wednesday, May 2 at Penn State going in as the third seed. Voelker knows it will be a tough game, but feels his team is ready.
“We have to pin our ears back and play a really good team on Wednesday,” said Voelker. “We are looking forward to it. We have a lot of work to do, but we’re excited about it.”
Senior Day Notes
Drexel honored nine seniors prior to their last regular season game at Vidas Field. Mark Manos has been a mainstay in-goal for four years. Kyle Bergman was the third leading scorer this season. Midfielders Kevin Stockel, Chris Farquhar, Andrew Collins, and Max Crockett contributed all of the little things that a team needs to be successful. Defenders Dana Wilbur, Brian Teuber, and Frank Tufano helped anchor the defense. Drexel had a 99 – 85 edge in caused turnovers this season. However, their cooperation and buying into the system of Coach Voelker is the biggest contribution. And today was for the seniors.
“I’ve been here for three years and these guys have worked really hard for me,” said Voelker. “They accomplished a lot of things. We feel like we still have some things to accomplish. This was a good day for them. The Moms and Dads are happy. It feels good to get a win for those guys.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
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