Sudden death overtime means one shot, one opportunity for both teams to be named champions. Unfortunately the odds were not in Hofstra’s favor as the Drexel Dragons defeated the Pride in the third overtime 11-10 on Saturday in Hempstead.
“Defense stood on their heads in overtime, they made great stops, kept giving us another chance to win the game,” Hofstra senior co-captain Torin Varn said. “In the third overtime it comes down to one shot, one possession and we were that close.”
A five-goal run in the third quarter for Hofstra was not enough as Drexel’s Cole Shafer had five goals including the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Dragons to its first Colonial Athletic Association victory and automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
Hofstra saw its CAA championship dreams crushed and will have to wait until selection Sunday, May 4 on ESPNU at 9 pm to see if the season can continue. With Hofstra’s loss, seven of the last eight top-seeded teams in the conference have not won the CAA title game.
“As much as it hurts that was probably one of the best lacrosse games I’ve ever been a part of,” Hofstra Head Coach Tierney said. “Guys just going after each other in a hard fought game but it just didn’t drop our way.”
After trailing by one to start the second half, Drexel freshman Shafer scooped up a ground ball and without looking shot it over his shoulder to give the Dragons the 5-3 lead. Hofstra switched gears and found the momentum on its side as junior Mike Malave cut the deficit to one to start a five-goal run. Sophomore Sam Llinares shot from an awkward angle but found the back of the net to tie the contest 5-5.
Varn put the Pride back on top with his second of the game assisted by classmate Lance Yapor on the man-up. Varn finished the Pride run with two more goals, the first assisted by Nick Altmann and the second by Drew Coholan to give Hofstra the 8-5 lead at the 12:12 mark of the third quarter.
Drexel outscored Hofstra 5-2 in the fourth quarter and Ryan Belka scored his second of the game to tie it up 10-10 and send the game to extra minutes at 12:15 of the fourth. With 0:43 seconds remaining in regulation, Yapor’s goal was called off for an illegal pick and Hofstra was unable to finish the job.
Both teams had plenty of chances in overtime but it would take three until Shafer sealed the deal for the Dragons to celebrate as CAA champions for the first time in program history.
“Jules [Raucci] just gave me a nice pass and I thought I had the opportunity I just shot it off-stick and it just happened to go in,” Shafer said about his game-winning goal in overtime.
CAA Player of the Year, Ben McIntosh was named MVP with one goal and four assists while Belka, two goals two assists, was named to the All-Championship team in the post-game ceremony. McIntosh had a flood of emotions after battling with his teammates the past four years to get to this point.
“We’ve gotten close but have never quite made the jump and to make the jump it feels great, it’s phenomenal,” McIntosh said.
Will Gabrielsen made 13 saves in the cage for the Dragons and Chris Selva stopped nine in front of the Pride net. Possessions especially toward the end were key in overtime and for the day Hofstra freshman Kris Clarke won 14 of 25 face-offs while Dragons Nick Saputo won 11 of 25. Hofstra outshot Drexel 38-35 and picked up 35 ground balls, one more than Drexel.
For the Pride, they will find out their fate tonight during the selection show but the Dragons will continue in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s a game of runs and unfortunately for us their run came at the end there,” Coach Tierney said.
