Rangers Fend Off Royals for First Conference Win

Box Score
MADISON, N.J. (April 9, 2011) – In a tightly contested Landmark Conference game in Ranger Stadium, Drew (5-4, Landmark 1-1) emerged victorious, 10-9 over Scranton (5-6, Landmark 1-1) this afternoon. Drew goalkeeper Charlie DeSocio (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) made 15 saves including two in the final minute of the ball game to seal the win.

Both teams played to a low-scoring first half with the Rangers holding a one-goal advantage after two quarters. Senior Tyler Morse (Middletown, N.J./Minisink Valley) paced the Rangers offense with two goals in the first 30 minutes of play. Scranton matched Drew goal-for-goal in the first half but the Rangers got a goal from Nicholas Della Fera (Locast Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) to give them a 3-2 lead going into the half.

Della Fera helped kick off the scoring in the second half of play when he found Steve Gentile (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Indian Hills) to give the Rangers a two-goal lead just 12 seconds into the third quarter. Royal attackman Robert Pantages single-handedly got the Royals back in the game when he scored three-consecutive goals putting the Royals up 5-4 with 5:49 to play in the quarter.

The Rangers, who had just 10 man-up goals going into today's contest, got the first of two goals from Eric Tripp (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove) to tie the game up at five at the end of three quarters of play.

Junior Sean McGowan (Milltown, N.J./St. Joseph's) sparked the Rangers by winning one of 14 faceoffs at the start of the fourth quarter, enabling Tripp to find Scott Humphreys (Newark, Del./Sanford School) for go-ahead goal just nine seconds into the frame.

The momentum did not last long as the Royals tied the game back up a little over a minute later on Daniel Slade's 15th goal of the year. The combination of Taylor Nelson and Sean Coleman accounted for the next two Scranton goals, giving the Royals an 8-6 lead with 11:14 left to play in the game.

The Ranger defense held tight for the remainder of the quarter allowing just three shots over the final 10 minutes. In the meantime, the Drew offense got to work and rattled off four of the game's final five goals. Andrew Somps (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) found McGowan with 9:04 remaining to make the score 8-7 and then fed Tripp on the game-tying goal 36 seconds later. Somps finished the day with three assists and a ground ball.

The Rangers captured the lead at the 7:35 mark on Della Fera's second goal and third point of the game, making the score 8-7. In the final two minutes, Mark Barus (Jacobstown, N.J./Notre Dame) notched the tenth Ranger goal on Eric Tripp's second assist of the contest. Scranton's Taylor Nelson pulled the Royals within one with 29 seconds to go but a battle on the game's final face-off would eat the majority of the final 29 seconds on the clock, nullifying any shot at tying the game.

The Rangers will be home again this Wednesday at 7:00 when they welcome in Swarthmore at the second-annual Faculty Appreciation Night.