Drexel starts defense of 2014 CAA Title; Round 1 vs Towson
This afternoon at 4 pm the No. 2 Drexel Dragons will start the defense of their CAA title as they face the No. 3 Towson Tigers. Both Drexel and Towson ended with a 3-2 record in the CAA, but Drexel received the higher seed due to defeating Towson 11-10 last week.
Drexel is currently 6-0 versus Towson, since their last defeat in 2010. In last year’s semifinals Drexel defeated Towson 11-10 in overtime.
Ryan Belka led the Dragons with 31 G, 18A. Cole Shafer (25 G), Robert Frazee (15 G), Jules Raucci and Mason Pynn each with 10 goals. They will need to come up big against the Towson defense.
Head Coach Shawn Nadelen is a defensive specialist during his playing days with the Philadelphia Wings (NLL) and the Baltimore Bayhawks (MLL). Add Dan Cocchi as the defensive coordinator and you have a tough defense that will give the opposition headaches. Goaltender Tyler White went 9-5 with a 7.12 GAA.
The Towson offense is led by Joe Seider (27 G, 5 A), Spencer Parks, Ryan Drenner, and Andrew Hodgson all with 15 goals each and Max Siskind 14 goals. Both offenses are evenly matched as well as the defense.
Drexel netminder Jimmy Joe Granito went 7-3 with a 8.08 GAA. Drexel Head Coach Brian Voelker is also a defensive specialist and also played for the Philadelphia Wings (NLL) and knows a strong defense can lead to a powerful offense.
Drexel started out very slow this season losing their first four games before winning four of the next five to head into the CAA Conference schedule. Towson started 6-3 prior to their CAA schedule. Towson won the first three conference games and looked to be the top seed. But a 9-2 loss to Hofstra at home and a last minute loss to Drexel dropped them to No. 3.
Ignore the fact that Drexel has defeated Towson six times in a row. This is sure to be another classic matchup between the Dragons and the Tigers.
