MADISON, N.J. - Junior
Craig Wilkie scored a school-record nine goals and the Drew University men's lacrosse team cruised to a 23-8 non-conference victory over Rosemont College at a sunny and cold Ranger Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Rangers won their third game in a row and are now 3-0 for the first time since the 2012 team opened 5-0.
Wilkie struck for his final goal with 7:39 left, eclipsing the former mark of eight goals set by Alex Previdi in 1992 and tied by Mike Talerico in 2000. Wilkie also dished out three assists to finish with 12 points - just one shy of the school record.
As a team, Drew's 23 goals were the fourth-most in team history and just two shy of the program record.
Freshman
Mike DeMayo, the reigning Landmark Conference Offensive Athlete of the Week, added five goals and one assist while freshman
Charlie Collins, sophomore
Brett Spafford, and freshman
Brian Windisch contributed two goals and one assist each.
At the X, sophomore
GJ Nazziola went 20-for-33 on face-offs to go with nine ground balls while sophomore defenseman
David Burke posted five caused turnovers and five ground balls. Senior
Jeremy Gottlieb collected 11 saves over the opening three quarters.
Brandon Krausse posted three goals and one assist for the Ravens (1-2).
The Rangers never trailed after opening the game on a 5-0 run, with DeMayo netting the team's first three tallies. Rosemont scored the last goal of the first quarter, but the Rangers outscored the visitors 4-1 in the second quarter to open up a 9-2 lead at the break. Wilkie scored four of his goals in the opening half.
Drew erupted offensively in the second half, outscoring Rosemont 14-7. Wilkie ripped the nets four times in the third quarter alone, including three in a row over a 2:50 stretch early in the period. His tally at the 6:04 mark in the third quarter tied the school record, and the Rangers outscored Rosemont 8-3 in the quarter to open up a 17-5 lead.
The Rangers opened the fourth quarter on a 4-1, capped by Wilkie's record-breaker - a man-up tally that was set up by Spafford that made it a 21-6 game.
Drew picks up its schedule on Wednesday, when it visits Merchant Marine at 7 p.m.
