PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Lafayette men's lacrosse battled Drexel to a 12-10 finish on Tuesday evening at Vidas Field, but fell short after 60 minutes.

The first period was dominated by the Dragons. The opening four and a half minutes were scoreless, but the deadlock was broken at the 10:32 mark by Conor Hooley. Hooley finished the day with a hat trick, while tacking on three assists. Caden Zadell and Jack Nolan both fired home later in the stanza, handing the hosts a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes.

Drexel made it a 4-0 advantage at the 12:20 mark of the second quarter, but that only woke up the Leopards. Lafayette responded with four unanswered goals led by freshmen Nicholas Blalock (2) and Joseph Duggan (1). Sophomore midfielder Jack Irish also got in on the action, starting the run with the Leopards' opening goal. Senior captain Riley Sullivan picked up two assists in the period. At the intermission, it was tied at four goals apiece.

Lafayette owned the third quarter, outscoring Drexel 5-1. Freshman Joshua Heaney got things going with his first collegiate goal with 11:22 to go. Duggan followed up with a goal not even a minute later, before Hooley pulled one back for the Dragons. Aidan Kopen, Nick Muller and Clifford Chapman all found the back of the net with less than five minutes in the quarter to give Lafayette a four-goal advantage (9-5).

The Dragons put up seven goals (six unanswered) in the final 15 minutes to grab their first win of the season. Witt Crawford (2) and Zadell (2) combined for four goals in crunch time.

Junior goalkeeper Joe Doherty was kept busy throughout the evening, having to make a season-high 15 saves at a 55.6 percent clip. His counterpart Drew McGill was only called into action four times, as the Leopards put away 10 of their 14 shots on goal.

Faceoffs were the standout statistic on the evening, as Drexel bested the Leopards by winning 16 of its battles at the x to Lafayette's nine. Aidan Shortley won 11 of his 18 attempts and scooped up a game-high seven ground balls.

Lafayette continues its three-game road stand at 1 p.m. on Sunday as it travels to Le Moyne.
 

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