March 22, 2008

EASTON, Pa. - Facing its fourth consecutive nationally-ranked opponent, the Lafayette men's lacrosse team fell to No. 12 Drexel 13-6 on Saturday afternoon at Rappolt Field. Freshman Tom Perini led the Leopards with four goals.

Drexel opened up a 3-0 lead in the first 11 minutes of the contest. Lafayette responded with their first tally of the afternoon with 2:14 left in the opening quarter on a Perini goal from sophomore Steve Serling.

Another Perini score sliced the Dragon advantage to 3-2 with 58 seconds remaining before Drexel found the back of the net to take a two-goal lead at the end of the first 15 minutes.

The Dragons opened the second quarter scoring, grabbing the first four goals of the second stanza within five minutes.

Lafayette narrowed the lead back to four on Perini's third goal of the day off an Andrew Horton assist, followed by a John Galassi goal from sophomore Matt Mersky at the 6:58 mark of the second quarter. Drexel notched the final goal of the first half and took a 9-4 advantage into intermission.

Two more goals to open the second half gave the Dragons an 11-4 lead with 13:13. The Leopards could only manage two more goals throughout in the game's final 20 minutes, as Drexel finished off its seventh straight victory.

Reigning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week Jeff Canfield grabbed 12 saves on the afternoon. Drexel outshot Lafayette 36-22 and handled the ground ball advantage 29-21.

The Leopards now shift their focus back to Patriot League play, as archrival Lehigh comes to town on Saturday, March 29. Face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rappolt Field.