#16 UAlbany Unable to Complete Comeback; Falls to Drexel, 20-19
PHILADELPHIA,
Pa. - Despite nine total points from Lyle Thompson, #16 UAlbany fell to
Drexel, 20-19, in non-conference men's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon. Thompson
scored three goals and handed out six assists to lead the Great Danes, who move
to 1-1 on the season, while Drexel also moves to 1-1 on the early season.
Three minutes into the game, the Great Danes owned a 3-0 lead behind
scores by Miles Thompson, Will Fuller, and Mike Woods. Fuller netted his second
of the day at 8:51 with an assist to Matt Garziano to push the UAlbany
advantage to 4-0 and prompt Drexel to take a timeout. Less than a minute later,
the Dragons ended the Great Dane rally with a goal by Ben McIntosh to cut the
UAlbany lead to 4-1 with 8:06 to play in the first quarter. Ty Thompson got on
the board at 5:38, taking an assist from Woods and finding the back of the net
to increase the advantage to 5-1, before Derrick Eccles assisted Doug Eich with
4:51 to play. The Great Danes then got another quick goal by Ryan Feuerstein to
push the lead to 7-1 with just over two minutes on the clock, and that score
held through the rest of the period.
Drexel scored two quick goals to start the second quarter, but the Great
Danes roared back, getting three straight goals. Woods netted his second of the
day at 5:22, and UAlbany won the ensuing faceoff and scored again, as
Feuerstein scored his second goal. At 4:21, Lyle Thompson scored to put the
Great Danes up, 10-3. The Dragons would score twice more to end the half,
getting tallies from Ryan Belka and Robert Church to set the halftime score at
10-5.
The Dragons scored first to start the third on a goal by Nick Saputo,
just 10 seconds into play, and then pulled to within 10-7 on an unassisted goal
by Aaron Prosser at 12:45. Drexel was determined to make a game out of it, getting
another goal 30 seconds later from Nick Trizano. The Dragons then cut the
UALbany advantage to one, 10-9, on a goal by Ryan Belka, and UAlbany finally
answered at 10:26, as Matt Garziano took an assist from Lyle Thompson to push
the lead back to 11-9. With 8:11 left to play, Feuerstein recorded his second
goal of the day with an unassisted goal, but Drexel responded to keep the
Dragons within one, 11-10, with 5:21 to play. Drexel tied the game at 11-all on
a man-up goal by McIntosh at 3:53, and then took their first lead of the game
at 2:57 on a goal by Frank Fusco. With UAlbany trailing for the first time this
season, Fusco scored again at 2:22, and UAlbany picked up a quick penalty to
give the Dragons a man-up opportunity. Drexel continued to roll, getting an
extra-man goal from Belka before UAlbany finally responded with a man-up goal
of its own from Will Stenberg with 50 seconds on the clock to pull back within 14-13
before the end of the third.
The fourth quarter got off to a rapid start, as both teams scored two
goals within the first two minutes of play. However, Drexel got back-to-back
goals to take a 17-15 lead with 11:56 to play. The Dragons built up a 19-15
lead before UAlbany found the back of the net again, as the Great Danes got a
goal from Fuller with 4:37 to go. The Great Danes got back-to-back goals from
Lyle Thompson to pull within 19-18, but were unable to take advantage of a
man-up opportunity. Drexel goalkeeper Will Gabrielsen made a save on a shot by
Miles Thompson, and the Dragons turned a clear into a goal at the other end,
pushing their advantage to 20-18. The Great Danes would not fold, however, as
Garziano found the back of the net with 18 seconds to play. UAlbany's Kevin Glueckert won the ensuing
faceoff, and the Great Danes got two good shots off, but time would expire
before one connected.
UAlbany held a 55-48 advantage in shots, and led, 39-29, in
groundballs. However, Drexel won 21-of-19 faceoffs. Gabrielsen made 18 saves
between the pipes for Drexel, while Blaze Riorden stopped 11 shots for UAlbany.
The Great Danes will continue their season next Saturday, opening the
season at home against Yale at 2 p.m.
-greatdanes-
