Drew Settles for the Second Seed in Tournament

MADISON, N.J. (May 1, 2010) – The season finale for men's lacrosse lived up to all the hype as the Goucher outlasted Drew 11-10 in Ranger Stadium this afternoon. The Rangers and Gophers tied the game on five different occasions and neither team had more than a two goal lead throughout the contest.

With the loss Drew (8-6, 4-2 Landmark) will now host Catholic University on Wednesday at Ranger Stadium with a time still to be determined. Goucher (12-3, 6-0 Landmark) took home their first regular season crown and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They will play the fourth seed, Merchant Marine on Wednesday.

Behind a large senior day crowd, the Rangers gained momentum and answered the Gophers first goal with a pair of unassisted goals from seniors Jon Bucknam (Flemington, N.J/Hunterdon Central) and Mike Sayers (Roseland, N.J./West Essex) to take an early 2-1 lead. The Gophers would tie up the game for the second time in the game at the 4:57 mark with a goal by Jackson Lane. Before the first period horn would sound Drew's Ari Young (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) netted a goal with 1:29 remaining to make the score 3-2.

The second period belonged to the Gophers who scored four goals including three-straight to give build the largest lead of the day, 6-4. When it seemed that Goucher was pulling away Bucknam got a pass from Scott Humphreys (Wilmington, Del/Sanford School) and wrapped one behind his back to beat goalkeeper Chris Stricklin top shelf. The goal came with just :30 seconds remaining in the half, ignited the crowd and gave the Rangers something to build on going into the second half.

The Rangers welcomed back freshman Sam Nepveux (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) who got his first hat trick of his career and knotted the game at seven early in the third period. Tyler Morse (Middletown, N.Y./Minsink Valley) then tied the game for the final time at eight with 7:09 remaining in the third.

In may have been the turning point of the game, the Gophers got picked up a Ranger turnover with :16 seconds remaining in the third period and cleared the ball at the :11 second mark. With a quick pass from Rory Avrett, Jackson Lane put Goucher up for good with a goal and just seven ticks were left on the clock.

Bucknam scored two goals in the final frame to pull the Rangers within one with 3:37 remaining. The Rangers would have their next three shots of the game stoned by Chris Stricklin and turned the ball over twice in the final minute.

Bucknam was the high-scorer from Drew as he had four goals bringing his season total up to 23. The Drew defense didn't have an answer for Kyle Boncaro who tallied five goals and added assist to lead Goucher.

The Rangers tied a season-high with 43 shots compared to the 36 from the Gophers.

Check drewrangers.com for the latest scheduling announcements.