Back on October 19, 2013 Drexel and Penn faced off in the Innagural Headstrong Classic at Penn Field. No score was kept but it was a very competitive game as both teams were looking for bragging rights as they are only seperated by a few blocks.
Sunday is Mothers Day; it is also the start of the NCAA LAcrosse Tournament. Drexel Dragons (12-4) will face the Penn Quakers (11-3) at Franklin Field at 3 pm. Both teams are riding an eight game winning streak.
The Quakers defeated Cornell 11-10 in the Semi-Finals and Harvard 7-5 in the Finals of the Ivy League. Penn is led by Senior Zack Losco (25 G, 13 A) and Sophomore Nick Doktor (20 G, 18 A). Isaac Brock and Kevin Brown (17 goals each) along with Drew Belinsky (14 goals) lead the Quaker offense. Penn is 22-59 on the man up (37.3 percent) and are 33-46 when a man down (71.7 percent). Goalkeeper Brian Feeney (Sr) has played all but 58 seconds this season and has a 8.78 GAA.
The Quakers seem to start out slow every game but as the game gets further along they pick up speed. In the first and third quarters the opponents outscored the Quakers by one goal. But in the second quarter, Penn outscores opponents by seven, and by 19 in the final quarter.
When you look at the Drexel Dragons, their slogan of “One Team, One Heartbeat” has held true during the entire season. The offense is led by Ben McIntosh (Sr). McIntosh is from Coquitlam, B.C. and scored 43 goals along with 16 assists. Cole Shafer (35 G, 16 A) (red shirt Freshman), Nick Trizano (Sr) 36 G, 13 A), and Ryan Belka (Jr) (23 G, 17 A) has led this high powered offense. Jared Boudreau (16 G) and Jules Raucci (13 G) cap off the offense fire power.
Drexel starts out very fast in their games. They outscore their opponents by 14 in each of the first two quarters and by 11 in the final quarter. The only down quarter is the third as they are outscored by 14. On special teams the Dragons are 25-62 on the man up for 40.3 percent and when a man down the Dragons are 29-52 for 55.8 percent.
Assistant Coach Chris Collins has really groomed goaltender Will Gabrielsen (So.) as he has a 9.41 GAA this season and has kept his composure even when he has those rough starts.
This game will be one to remember. Not only is it to advance to the second round of the tournament, but with these two schools being separated by less then a mile, and the students seeing each other around town there will also be bragging rights.
The game will be shown LIVE at 3 pm on ESPNU.
