Lehigh University
No. 17 Drexel
Mountain Hawks upend No. 17 Drexel 8-6
2/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
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“Every year is a new year and you have to learn how to win against tough opponents like this,” Wakely said afterwards. “I thought we handled the fourth quarter well, particularly that final possession. Drexel is a well-coached team and this is one of what I feel will be many close games this season. I’m proud of the way our guys answered back today following a tough battle with
Ron Garling scored the game’s first goal off of an assist from Jon Van Houten at the 13:03 mark of the first quarter, and that would be all the scoring until Lehigh’s Kevin Houk tied the game at one apiece off of a feed from Ricky Cornetta with 4:05 left. Steve Marino then put the Mountain Hawks in front with his second goal of the season at the 1:47 mark to send the Brown and White into the second ahead 2-1.
Van Houten would tie the score at two as he scored the first of four second quarter goals for the Dragons at the 13:58 clip. Lehigh’s lone score of the second came from senior Jeff Wiener at the 11:17 mark, as the Mountain Hawks trailed 5-3 at intermission.
Fred Cassilly netted his first score of the season with 11:41 to go in the third to bring Lehigh to within one, and Wiener then tied the game at five as Lehigh scored in a man-up situation. That would be all of the scoring for the third quarter as the teams headed into the final 15 minutes knotted at five.
Wiener then scored his second goal, this one coming off of an assist from Marino at the 7:49 mark of the fourth, and Lehigh had its first lead of the second half. Mike Fillipone would tie the game at six with a goal of his own at the 4:43 mark, but Marino netted the game-winner with 2:01 to go, and classmate Mike Zurfluh put in an insurance goal with just six ticks left as Lehigh held on for the upset victory. Marino's goal was assisted by junior goal keeper Eric Spirko, who recorded his first collegiate point with the helper.
Lehigh was out shot 33-32 on the afternoon, and scooped up 21 ground balls to Drexel’s 30. The Mountain Hawks won seven-of-18 face offs and were 18-of-20 on clear attempts. Spirko sent back nine Dragon shots in goal for the Brown and White, while Bruce Bickford finished with 11 stops for Drexel. Marino ended the day with two goals, two assists and a team-best four ground balls, while Wiener netted a hat trick and unleashed a team-best eight shots. Adam Crystal scooped up a team-best four ground balls for the visitors, while Andrew Chapman scored two goals.
Lehigh returns to action on Wednesday when the Mountain Hawks travel to
