CONWAY, Ark. (March 9, 2016) – The Drew University men's lacrosse team concluded its Spring Break trek down South with a hard-fought 7-5 setback at Hendrix College on a rainy Wednesday evening in Arkansas.
 
For the third straight game to start the season, the Rangers (0-3) fell by a slim margin to a quality opponent while seeing promising performances from some new players, as well as established veterans. One such veteran was junior goalkeeper Teddy Sweeney, who made a career-high 20 saves against the Warriors (3-5) as they outshot Drew, 37-18. That saves mark is the fifth highest for a single game in program history.
 
Freshman attacker Thomas Ensmenger emerged as the Rangers' leading goal scorer through three games, netting two against the Warriors on Wednesday. Another pair of rookies rocketed home their first collegiate goals at Hendrix with midfielder Max Foisey scoring in his college debut and midfielder Thomas Garner netting his first in the third quarter.
 
Senior midfielder Steven Cola picked up a pair of assists, while senior Kevin Cleary dominated the turf around the X, winning 7-of-10 face-offs and grabbing a team-high five ground balls.
 
Junior midfielder Rich Shahpazian got the Rangers on the board after Hendrix took a 1-0 lead. The captain's equalizer came with 6:23 to go in the opening period, and three minutes later, Foisey put the Rangers ahead off an assist from sophomore Joe Palmieri.
 
Hendrix tied it a short time later, but hungry for the lead back, Cola connected with Ensmenger for his second goal of the season as Drew jumped back up 3-2. Hendrix heated up with under a minute remaining in the first quarter and scored two quick ones nine seconds apart, including one with nine seconds left to take a 4-3 lead after one period.
 
The scoring spurt slowed in the second, but it was Hendrix that struck first to increase the lead to 5-3. Ensmenger and the man-up squad took advantage of a Warriors penalty to cut the lead in half with nine minutes to play in the second, but Hendrix had another quick answer with a tally 10 seconds later.
 
Hendrix and Drew each scored a goal in the third, with Garner firing one home for his first collegiate goal. That shot, however, would be the last for either team to find the back of the net. Both goalies took over in a scoreless fourth, highlighted by seven saves by Sweeney. The Drew goalie also grabbed four grounders.
 
Drew's shutout fourth quarter was impressive due to the fact they played over two minutes down a man due to five different penalties down the stretch.
 
Drew was 16-for-21 on clears compared to 17-for-22 for Hendrix. The Rangers grabbed five more ground balls than the Warriors (30-25) and the final face-off tally was even with eight won apiece.
 
The Rangers return North for a neutral site game against Bard College on Wednesday, March 16 played at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.