Dragons Fall to the 6th Seeded Fighting Irish 10 – 8 in NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament First Round
May 15, 2021 –
The Drexel Dragons overcame a four-goal deficit in the second half, but with the game tied at 8 Notre Dame’s Wheaton Jackoboice scored with 1:19 left in regulation for the go-ahead goal. The 6th seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish survive and advance with a 10 – 8 win in Denver. Drexel goalie Ross Blumenthal made 15 saves, and 7 of those came in the fourth quarter. The Jackoboice goal was the first for the Irish in the last 15 minutes. The Dragons end the season with a 10 – 3 record.
Reid Bowering scored a game-high 4 goals in the game. The play of Blumenthal allowed the Dragons to make the comeback stopping the Irish at the net.
At halftime Notre Dame held a 7 – 3 lead, largely by winning 8 of 12 faceoffs, and 15 – 7 for the game. Drexel needed to find ways to get control of the ball, and by getting ground balls they stayed in proximity. Then the ball was finding the back of the net. The Dragons won the third quarter 4 – 1. At the 1:19 mark of the third quarter Aidan Coll scored and started a run of three straight, two by Bowering to tie the score at 8 with 12:50 to play.
The teams went back and forth until Jackoboice broke the deadlock. Notre Dame got an empty netter with 41 seconds on the clock for the final margin of victory. Liam Entenmann saved 17 shots for the Fighting Irish.
The nine-game win streak by the Dragons is snapped. The season comes to an end. But the squad gave fourth-ranked Notre Dame all they could handle. Bright signs for the future.
The same can be said for the women’s lacrosse program. They established many firsts, especially getting to the NCAA Tournament for the first time along with the men’s team, who qualified for the second time. The women’s team concluded their season with a 16 – 13 loss to Rutgers the day before.
So at 33rd Street the basketball teams and the lacrosse teams made the tournament. For seasons that started in disarray, Drexel made the best of the situation, and created memories along the way.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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