The Drexel Men’s Lacrosse team welcomed the University of Albany Great Danes to a cold and chilly Vidas Field on Feb. 24. A crowd of 863 people came to watch Drexel’s season opener, following a 7-8 loss at Lafayette.
The Dragons opened up the scoring through midfielder Jack Joyner. Joyner cut to the right of an Albany defender and sent a shot to the right side of the net as he fell. Albany responded a minute later with a goal of their own to tie the game up.
The Dragons scored two more times in the opening quarter. Redshirt freshman Gavin Kelly and junior Max Semple ensured Drexel’s lead. Semple’s goal came from a long buildup of Drexel passing. Midfielder Sean Curcio found an open Semple for the finish. However, Albany was able to respond with goals of their own and left the opening quarter tied 3-3.
In the opening three minutes of the second quarter, Albany was able to establish a 5-3 lead over the Dragons. However, Drexel was able to take back the lead after establishing some major momentum and scoring six consecutive goals. Semple scored three more goals, whilst Luke Tomak, Witt Crawford, and Zach Augustine contributed to that six-goal run. Drexel entered the half the better team, up 9-5 with thirty minutes to play.
Not much scoring happened in the third quarter as only two balls found the back of the nylon. Albany’s Jackson Palumb scored five minutes in whilst Sean Curcio scored three minutes before the end of the quarter. Curcio cut into the right side of the Albany defense and sent a shot into the bottom right corner of the net. Drexel maintained their four-goal lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Great Danes fight back. They scored three straight goals to cut the lead to one with less than nine minutes remaining. Later, Kelly found midfielder Tate Kienzle to extend the lead back to two. Albany then scored twice in eleven seconds to tie the game up at 11-11.
Kelly responded by shifting in from his left side to fire a shot into the roof of the net to give the Dragons the lead. Drexel led with three minutes to play but Albany quickly responded 22 seconds later when Albany’s Silas Richmond swiftly tied the game up at 12 all. The final buzzer sounded as both teams headed into overtime.
With less than three minutes left in overtime, Joyner cut left, turned around to his right, and unleashed a shot that flew by the Albany goalkeeper to score the winning goal. Joyner’s second goal of the game elevated Drexel to a 2-1 season record.
The Dragons hope to continue their current form as they return to Vidas Field for a match against Sacred Heart University on March 4.