Drexel faces Fairfield, while Towson travels to face UMass in CAA action this weekend.
This past weekend the Drexel Dragons (4-6) traveled about 100 miles south to face the #10 ranked Towson Tigers (9-1). Unfortunately for the Dragons they fell 11-7.
For the first three quarters the Dragons looked as if they would pull off the upset of their season. But a six goal run by the Tigers was the difference.
Both squads had many chances on offense but the defense and the goaltending stood tall for both teams. Goaltender Jimmy Joe Granito was the main reason for the Dragons saying close by stopping nine of his career high 16 shots in the first half. “I think I was definitely seeing the ball today,” Granito said afterward. “But I also think our defense stepped up. Our guys played hard. Fourth quarter, we kind of slipped up a bit. There was a couple I could have had to help keep us in it.”
Drexel’s Head Coach Brian Voelker echoed the same feelings by saying, “I thought Jim played very well; I don’t think we gave him a chance in the fourth quarter to make some of the same saves he made in the first three. He’s had a lot of saves in all of our games. He’s stepped up and had a great year so far, and we’ve needed him to step up.”
The Towson defense was very strong as they kept a lid on Cole Shafer until the third quarter. “He’s much better when the ball’s moving around,” Voelker said of Shafer. “The way Towson plays, they don’t let you do that stuff. They let the ball kind of die in your stick. They dare you to beat them and they make you beat them one-on-one, and their short-sticks are really talented.” Shafer ended the game with only one goal on three shots.
Will Manganiello and Matthew Varian led the Dragons with two goals apiece.
This was the opening game of the CAA. Drexel will travel to Fairfield to face the Stags at 3:00 pm Saturday. Fairfield won their CAA opener 9-8 at Hofstra. Drexel returns home April 16 to face Hofstra.
Last year Drexel fell to Fairfield 7-4 at Vidas Field. This time they look to turn the tables on Fairfield and even their CAA record at 1-1. A second loss in the CAA right now will put a lot of pressure on the Dragons to make their conference tournament.
