Rain Slows Down, So Does Drexel Offense; Outscored 5-1 In Final Quarter
Last night the Drexel Dragons (0-3) fell to the Villanova Wildcats (1-3) 15-13 at Vidas Field in Philadelphia Pa. Villanova leads the series 23-21, with Drexel’s last win coming at Villanova in 2013.
Great defense by both teams controlled the first three minutes, along with some big saves early by senior goalie Jimmy Joe Granito. One of the saves led to an offensive outbreak as Will Manganiello rolled off a pick to a clear right side into the Villanova defense to score the first goal of the game. Villanova would tie the game less then a minute later as Joey Froccaro netted his first of the night (second of season) as he found a hole in the Dragon defense to tie the game at one.
As the second quarter started, so did the offense for the Dragons and the Wildcats. Teams would alternate six goals between them before the Dragons would score the final two and outscore Villanova five to three and take an 8-5 lead at the half, along with the momentum. Reid Bowering would score twice in the second for the Dragons, but Rainoldi who scored early in the second would go down with a lower body injury and had to be helped off the field. Rainoldi would not return.
Drexel already hit by the injury bug in the pre-season when So. Matthew Varian went down with a knee injury that may keep him out for the season, had Marshall King go down versus Albany, and now Rainoldi. Time table for King and Rainoldi’s return is game to game.
Cam Harris and Chris McLallen would finish off a five goal run for Drexel and double the lead to 10-5 with just 3:08 gone into the third quarter, and it seemed the Dragons were on their way to victory number one. But as the rains slowed down, so did the fire in the Dragon offense.
Villanova would strike with three goals, Connor Kirst would notch his first of the year to start followed by Jack Curran and Jake Froccaro each collecting their seventh of the season to cut the lead to 10-8. Frazee and Shafer would each score for the Dragons to end the Nova run and rebuils a four goal lead. But two goals in :36 by Cucciello and Seibel would cut the lead in half, the second goal with 1.4 seconds to go in the third.
The fourth quarter was all Villanova. They would outscore Drexel 5-1 in the final quarter, and a total of 10-3 in the final 26 minutes to steal a victory from Drexel.
Villanova took 14 shots in the final quarter, seven of which were on goal with five finding the twine. While Drexel managed two shots on goal and only one finding the back of the net.
Each team did well on the extra man. Villanova was 4-8 while Drexel went 3-8. Drexel picked up the final five penalties of the game, but only one resulted in a goal for Villanova. But it’s hard to to stop a run, or battle back when you are playing a man down for 4:30.
Villanova had 42 shots, with 25 on goal to Drexel’s 30 shots, and 20 on goal. Nova controlled the face-offs 17-14, and a slim margin in loose balls 30-29.
Leading Scorers:
Villanova—Jake Froccaro (3G), Danny Seibel (3G/1A), Jack Curran (2G/3A), Chris Cuccinello, Joey Froccaro, and Connor Kirst each registered two goals apiece.
Drexel—Cole Shafer (4G), Robert Frazee (2G), Reid Bowering (2G), Will Manganiello (2G).
Drexel returns to action on the road at Marist 1pm Saturday, before returning home for a weekend double header. Friday March 10 vs Bryant 5pm, followed by a Sunday afternoon game at 1pm versus city rival St Joseph’s.
Villanova returns to action this Saturday as they host the University of Delaware at 3pm.
