MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's lacrosse team outscored Goucher College 7-0 in the third quarter and the Rangers held off a late Gopher rally to earn a 15-12 Landmark Conference victory Saturday afternoon in Ranger Stadium.
 
With the win, Drew (9-7, 4-4 LC) clinched a Landmark Conference playoff berth for the first time in a normal year since the 2017 season. The top six teams in the conference standings now qualify for the Landmark Conference Championships, due to the addition of Lycoming College and Wilkes University this season.
 
Seniors Kellum Foster-Palmer and Brett Spafford posted three goals and one assist apiece for the Rangers while classmate Tommy Larmore also netted three goals. Junior Charlie Collins notched two goals and two assists, and senior Alex Higgins also scored twice.
 
Senior GJ Nazziola posted another big day at the X, finishing 22-for-30 on faceoffs while picking up a career-high 18 ground balls. In goal, freshman Joe Barnish posted eight saves.
 
Jacob Morgan paced Goucher (8-8, 2-6 LC) with three goals and five assists while Jack Smith registered 14 saves.
 
The Rangers, who outshot the Gophers 54-31, never trailed after scoring the first three goals of the game. Foster-Palmer had a hand in each goal, first assisting Tommy Larmore less than a minute into the contest before scoring twice to make it 3-0 with 8:59 on the clock. However, Goucher answered with the final two goals of the quarter to cut the deficit to one.
 
Higgins scored the first goal of the second quarter, finishing off a feed from Spafford with 13:51 remaining in the opening half. Goucher answered with the next two goals to pull even at 4-4 before junior Mike DeMayo struck off a dish from Collins to put the Rangers up 5-4 with 4:19 showing. The Gophers scored the final goal of the half with 2:05 remaining and it was a 5-5 game at the intermission.
 
Drew kicked off its decisive run with 12:11 remaining in the third quarter, when Collins cashed in off an assist from junior Joey Larmore. Tommy Larmore added a tally at the 9:46 mark before Spafford caught fire, scoring three in a row over a six-minute span as the Rangers' lead ballooned to 10-5 with 3:08 left in the quarter.
 
Tommy Larmore scored on a pass from Collins with 45 seconds left in the period, and with 22 ticks showing, senior Matt Giordano buried a shot off a pass from Joey Larmore, putting the Rangers up 12-5 heading in the final quarter.
 
Goucher outscored the Rangers 3-1 over the opening four minutes of the last stanza before Drew tossed in their final two goals. Higgins finished off a pass from sophomore Colin Diodato with 9:52 remaining before Foster-Palmer scored Drew's final goal, making it 15-8 with 9:17 to go.
 
The Gophers scored four unanswered goals to end the game, with the last coming at the 3:12 mark. But Goucher managed just one shot on goal the rest of the way, and it was saved by Barnish at the 2:36 mark.
 
Drew wraps up its regular-season schedule next Saturday, when it hosts Juniata College at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.