MADISON, N.J. (April 29, 2017) – Head Drew University men's lacrosse coach Thomas Leanos walked off the Ranger Stadium turf as a winner for the final time, as his team defeated Susquehanna University, 9-8, on a Senior Day Saturday.
 
The win was the 255^th of Leanos' college coaching career, which will come to an end after the 2017 season. That campaign is far from over, however, as the Rangers enter next week's Landmark Conference Championship as the No. 3 seed with a semifinal date at No. 2 The Catholic University of America on Wednesday, May 3 at 7 p.m.

The Rangers (8-6, 4-2 Landmark Conference) have won four straight games heading into the postseason, all in league play.
 
Drew methodically built a seemingly comfortable 9-2 lead in the third quarter with five straight goals in the period, capped by junior attacker Jack Crowley's third goal of the game. The emotion of the day, which began by honoring Drew's eight seniors and continued with the looming reality of Coach Leanos' final game in Madison, started to take its toll as the River Hawks rallied for six straight goals down the stretch. The run would stop there and the Rangers held on for the 9-8 victory in the regular season finale.
 
Freshman midfielder Kyle MacDonnell capped his rookie regular season with a pair of goals to bring his total to 14 on the year, while sophomore attacker Ryan D'Alessandro also netted two in the win. Senior goalkeeper Teddy Sweeney stopped 13 shots, including one with 1:06 to play that could have completed an improbable comeback if not for his quick reaction.
 
Junior faceoff specialist Joe Palmieri got on the attack early and put the Rangers up 1-0 nine minutes into the contest, followed by senior midfielder Tom Cotroneo's sixth goal of the season for the 2-0 lead.
 
Sweeney, who continues to rank among the top goalkeeper in the nation in save percentage, made the difference as Susquehanna outshot the Rangers 35-28. Drew was nearly perfect on the clear (12-of-13) compared to the River Hawks' 17-of-22 mark. The Rangers conceded faceoffs, 12-9, but won the groundball battle, 21-15.
 
Both teams were effective on the penalty kill as Drew went 0-for-2 and Susquehanna, 0-for-3.
 
Following the victory, nearly 100 Drew men's lacrosse alumni joined Leanos and his family on the field for a celebration of the legend's career. He was presented with a signed poster from all alumni in attendance and a framed picture from the 2017 team before addressing the crowd. Finally, just as Leanos carried so many of his teams through the good times and bad, the Ranger alumni carried their head coach off the field to end the evening.