MADISON, N.J. – Sophomore Luke Bruther scored the game-winning goal with 2:35 left and the Drew University men's lacrosse team held off Lycoming College for a 12-11 non-conference victory Sunday afternoon in Ranger Stadium.
 
The Rangers (5-3) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, only to see the Warriors (2-4) rally with a 9-1 run spanning the first three quarters. But Drew ended the game on a 5-1 surge.
 
Bruther and senior Craig Wilkie scored three goals apiece for the Rangers while sophomore Mike DeMayo posted two goals, three assists, four ground balls, and a pair of caused turnovers. Junior GJ Nazziola had a big day at the faceoff X, going 20-for-26 on faceoffs. Defensively, junior Tyler McCarthy posted four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
 
In goal, freshman Matt Duarte started for the Rangers and made five saves while yielding seven goals in the first half. Classmate Sawyer Kennedy came on to play the final 30 minutes and stopped a pair of shots while allowing four goals.
 
Drew overcame a 25-save performance from Warrior goalie Ben Franco. Joey Hoover and Owen Zimmerman scored three goals each for Lycoming.
 
After a Warrior shot-clock violation at the 3:00 mark, the Rangers cleared the ball quickly and senior Kyle Weeks flipped a pass to Bruther deep in the right wing. Bruther wound up and bounced a shot into the lower-left corner of the net for his eighth goal of the season and his first career game-winner.
 
The Rangers were firing on all cylinders right from the start and needed less than seven minutes to score their first five goals. Five different players got in on the action, with Curley, Bruther, junior David Burke, Wilkie, and DeMayo all finding paydirt.
 
Lycoming snapped the run with a pair of goals before Wilkie struck again with 3:15 on the clock to make it 6-2. Zimmerman scored his first goal with 1:34 showing to make it 6-3 at the end of the opening period.
 
The Warriors kept their momentum going in the second quarter, when they outscored the Rangers 4-0 to assume a 7-6 lead at halftime. Patrick Dwyer started the run for Lycoming before Joey Hoover tossed in three straight goals, including a pair of man-up tallies, to put his team in front.
 
The visitors capped their run with the first two goals of the third quarter, with Max Anderson and Zimmerman scoring to put the Warriors up 9-6. DeMayo snapped a scoring drought for the Rangers when he cashed in with 9:34 left in the third quarter before Troy Scozzafava answered for Lycoming to make it 10-7.
 
The Rangers came alive late in the quarter, scoring three times in the final 6:31 to pull even. Wilkie got things started with his final goal of the game before freshman Matt Giordano followed up with 2:56 on the clock. Bruther then finished off a feed from DeMayo in a man-up opportunity and it was a 10-10 game heading into the final stanza.
 
Neither side scored again until Zimmerman netted the final goal of the day for Lycoming with 6:49 left to momentarily put his side back on top. But Curley provided the equalizer for Drew with 5:00 to go, converting a dish from DeMayo.
 
Following Bruther's game-winner, Nazziola scooped up the ground ball off the faceoff. The Rangers fired off a pair of shots, the second of which was deflected by Franco to reset the shot clock with 1:18 left. Drew committed a turnover with seven ticks showing, but Franco's desperation heave sailed over the end line in the closing seconds.
 
Drew continues its six-game homestand on Wednesday, when it takes on Post University at 7 p.m. in another non-conference tilt.