KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Sophomore Riley Zeer scored four goals, including an incredible behind-the-back game-winner with 1:21 left, and the Drew University men's lacrosse team rallied from an early seven-goal deficit to earn a thrilling 13-12 victory at the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday.
 
The Rangers (5-1) have now won their last five games, marking the team's longest winning streak since the 2012 team tied the school record with eight straight victories.
 
After Merchant Marine scored to tie the game at 12-all with 2:14 remaining, senior GJ Nazziola won the ensuing faceoff before junior Joey Larmore delivered a pass from X to a cutting Zeer, who rifled in a perfectly-placed shot from the right wing into the upper-left corner, setting the final score.
 
Joey Larmore added one goal and four assists for Drew, which fell behind 6-0 to start the game and 8-1 early in the second quarter, while seniors Matt Giordano and Tommy Larmore scored two goals apiece. Nazziola won 20-of-29 faceoffs and picked up 10 ground balls while sophomore Sawyer Kennedy collected 10 saves.
 
William Badeer scored three goals for the Mariners (1-2).
 
Senior Alex Higgins snapped Merchant Marine's game-opening 6-0 run when he scored with 2:04 left in the opening quarter. But the Mariners answered with the final goal of the opening quarter and another tally 41 seconds into the second period to build their seven-goal advantage. However, that's when the Rangers got hot, reeling off a 7-0 run of their own to pull even late in the quarter.
 
Zeer helped fuel the rally, scoring three of his goals during the stretch, including two of the first three. Sophomore Jake Cornelius, senior Brett Spafford, junior Charlie Collins, and Giordano also found the back of the net, and Zeer capped the run with a goal at the 2:02 mark. Merchant Marine scored the final goal of the quarter and carried a 9-8 lead into the intermission.
 
The second half was a nip-and-tuck affair in which neither side led by more than two and Nazziola won 8-of-10 faceoffs. Joey Larmore and Giordano scored one apiece in a low-scoring third quarter, and it was a 10-10 game heading into the final stanza.
 
Tommy Larmore netted the first two goals of the fourth quarter less than a minute apart to put the Rangers up by two with 12:09 showing. However, Merchant Marine scored with 9:02 left before Badeer tied it up again, setting up Zeer's heroics.
 
The Rangers return to action on Friday, when they take on Rhodes College at 7 p.m. on the opening day of the inaugural Leanos Cup.