MADISON, N.J. (March 2, 2017) — The Drew University men's lacrosse team played SUNY Maritime College close in the early going and mounted something of a comeback in the final quarter, but eventually fell victim, 11-7, to the Privateers on Thursday evening at Ranger Stadium.

By the Numbers: The Rangers drop to 0-2 early in the 2017 season with both losses coming at home. The Privateers improve to 1-1 on their two-game road trip to start the spring season.
 
Top Performers:
• Junior attacker Jack Crowley earned his first career hat trick with a goal in the second quarter and two critical tallies down the stretch in the fourth.
• Senior midfielder Tom Cotroneo scored and assisted on two goals.
• Freshman midfielder Seamus O'Connor scored and assisted after logging a team-high seven shots.
• Freshman midfielder Kevin Goettlich scored on six shots and scooped four ground balls.
 
Turning Point: After Goettlich's second goal of the season, the Rangers trimmed what was once a four-goal Privateer lead to just one in the second quarter. With Drew valiantly charging at the heels of the Privateers, Maritime felt a strong need for insurance. Just before the halftime whistle they converted a quick one-time score to earn a 6-4 lead to get some breathing room out of the half. Maritime would pull away shortly into the second half and earn insurance it would wind up needing.
 
Stat Sheet:
• The Privateers went 4-for-4 on man-up opportunities, including two on a two-minute unreleasable. Drew countered with a 3-of-8 mark on the man-up offense after Maritime logged 8:30 worth of penalties on eight flags.
• The Rangers grabbed 41 ground balls to the Privateer's 40 while also outshooting them 22-19 on goal.
• Drew successfully cleared 16-of-20 chances. The Privateers were a bit more lax on the clear, producing a 19-of-28 mark in transition.
 
Other Highlights:
• With seconds ticking away in the first quarter, Cotroneo snagged a dump off pass and found some free turf. He high stepped into a laser that he unleashed from long range into the back of the to put the Rangers on the board and make the score 4-1 Maritime at the end of the quarter.
• Maritime netted an additional goal that Drew responded to immediately. They did so when Cotroneo muscled his way into enemy territory and from in close, fed one across to Crowley, who buried it from close range to bring the score to 5-2 minutes into the second quarter. The conversion was the transfer Crowley's second score in Blue and Green.
• Maritime opened the contest with a scoring flurry that saw four goals hit the net in the very first quarter, propelling them to a 4-0 lead.
• Drew also scored twice during a two-minute unreleasable penalty in the fourth quarter, right after Maritime's two. Crowley netted his hat trick with 6:44 remaining off a feed from Cotroneo before sophomore attacker Ryan D'Alessandro rocketed a shot to the upper left corner to make it 10-7 Maritime 45 seconds later.
• The comeback would be halted and Maritime picked up an empty net goal with 56 seconds left to set the final score at 11-7.
 
Up Next: The Rangers will follow up Thursday's setback by embarking on a four-game road trip that begins on Monday, March 6^th at Pfeiffer College for a 3:00 p.m. contest in North Carolina. Drew returns to Ranger Stadium on Saturday, March 25 when they will be thrust into Landmark Conference action immediately as they square off against Catholic University for a noontime battle.