Drew Men's Lacrosse Claims Landmark Title

MADISON, N.J. - Some championships are won when an individual player puts his team on his back and carries them to the title; others are won when a team as a whole steps up to play better than the sum of its parts. Today, the Drew Rangers were the later as they won a tense, hard fought affair with the Goucher Gophers to take the inaugural Landmark Conference Men’s Lacrosse championships, 8-5, at Ranger Stadium.

Drew trailed for just seven minutes in the game, but led by more than two goals for less than two minutes in the game. The win gives Drew’s Head Coach Tom Leanos a championship in his 20th season in charge of the Rangers. Among the numerous standouts for the Rangers were Jon Bucknam, who had three goals and an assist, Jon Dowiak, who won 11 of 15 face offs, and the goaltending duo of Brad Mendelson and Michael Celentano. Goucher played a valiant game with Austin Main outstanding in goal and Alex Teit scoring twice.

The game began appropriately with the Rangers taking the opening possession thanks to a Dowiak face off win. The Rangers then kept possession in the Gopher area for nearly four minutes of play. With the Landmark’s leading offense against Goucher’s conference leading defense, Drew threw a couple of jabs from Sean McNulty and Steve Carnes long range shots, but couldn’t break down the impressive Gopher defense. After Main stopped Rob Budziszewski’s close ranger effort, the Gophers landed a counter punch with Alex Tiet rolling back to the middle to lose his marker and fire home from eight meters out at 10:06.

Though Dowiak won the ensuing face-off, Drew was unable to get a good shot off against the tight Goucher D and when they did Main came up with the save as he did against Mike Sayers around the nine minute mark.

A penalty with 4:16 left in the period gave the Rangers a man-up and they used it well. Budziszewski held the ball behind the goal and found a cutting Greg Reading. The sophomore held the close range pass and fired inside the far post from the crease to tie it at 1-1.

With the Gopher defense playing so well, the Rangers needed some fortune to get the second goal. Goucher had possession, but a missed pass set up a Ranger breakaway with Bucknam and Mike Sayers ahead of the field. Bucknam got Sayers alone on the keeper and after moving Main with a fake, the sophomore found the netting with just 30 seconds left in the period.

The second period was much of the same as the two teams were finding the measure of each other throughout. Drew had most of the possession, but the Gopher defense remained resilient. Steve Carnes got open in a dangerous position, but Main saved low.

With it clear that the Rangers would not win 11-10 in a relative shootout as they had earlier in the season, the Rangers defense stepped up to match the Gophers stop for stop. Greg Hamilton stripped Sam Fitzpatrick on the wing to end one Goucher possession that turned into another time killing Drew attack. Brian Hoge got alone on goal a minute later, but Brad Mendelson denied him high.

With Goucher on a power play, Mendelson made another save that Gary DiClementi picked up to kill the penalty. Mike DeGiovanni came up with a nice stick check to end a threat as Jordon Block grabbed the ground ball a bit later and Mendelson came up with another one-on-one save against Hoge with five minutes left.

Goucher did well to kill off a two man power play for Drew and the clock ran out on the tense first half 2-1 to the Rangers.

As always, the Rangers switched keepers to open the second half with Mike Celentano in goal. Celentano made a terrific save early in the period, but got beat on a screened long range effort from David Duff as Goucher tied the game 2-2 with 12:01 left in the third. The Gophers almost took the lead, but Celentano stonewalled Hoge from close range to give Drew a chance to go back ahead. That possession turned into a good clear from Bloch and then Mike Sayers behind the net with the ball. Sayers found Bucknam open on the side and the Fireman made it count with a nice low shot past Main for a 3-2 lead; a lead that the Rangers would never relinquish.

Dowiak won the next face off and after two close misses by the Rangers, Greg Reading go his second. The sophomore brushed off a pair of checks to drill home from mid-range for a 4-2 lead.

The game would stay that way, thanks in large part to two more big saves from Celentano, for the next seven minutes of play. The Rangers killed off a penalty in that time as Celentano made another one-on-one save that set up a Drew possession. With just under three minutes left in the period, McNulty found Bucknam as he was falling down. Bucknam received the ball and made a quick move to free himself of his defender before going five-hole for a 5-2 Rangers lead.

For the next two minutes it was a completely different game. The Gophers won the face-offs for the first time in the game following that goal. That win, coupled with a Ranger penalty, resulted in another Duff goal off of Tiet’s assist. The Gophers would add another just twenty six seconds later as Alex Boucher fired home in the far, lower corner.

With the momentum swinging to Goucher’s favor, the Gophers had a chance to tie it up, but Aiden Ehrenberg got a stick in just in time to stop a Gopher shot and Hamilton came up with the ground ball. After wisely getting the ball to DeGiovanni, the Rangers got the ball down to the Gopher end in a hurry. Budziszewski set up Bucknam 12 meters out from goal on the left side. Bucknam side winded it home to stagger the Gophers with just 1:18 left in the period.

Heading into the final 15 minutes of play up 6-4, the game was still anyone’s for the taking. Danger arose in a hurry for the Rangers as William Beaver won the opening face-off and found himself with a wide open look on goal not five seconds into the period. Celentano again came up huge with sprawling save. Sean McNulty picked up the rebound and got it back to Dowiak, who carried into the attacking third with under thirty seconds gone in the period. The Rangers would hold that possession for the next four and a half minutes, frustrating the Gophers with their patience, ball control and passing.

Back on April 16th, the Rangers faced USMMA in a game that they would lose an 11-10 heartbreaker in overtime. One good thing that came out of that loss was freshman Ari Young getting back on the score sheet with a goal in the second period. A few games later, Young came up with one of the most important goals of the season as he scored the game winner with 30 seconds left to give Drew home field advantage. Today, the kid scored another historic goal for the Rangers. Young culminated that epic possession with a terrific goal. He pulled his man out wide and made a move to go back behind the goal as if he were going to waste more time. Once his defender committed, Young rolled back towards the middle and with plenty of space fired past the keeper for a 7-4 Ranger lead with 10 minutes to go.

Dowiak dove for the ground ball on the next face-off keeping the loose ball alive. DeGiovanni would eventually come up with it, but Goucher’s David Jadin made an incredible diving stick check to prevent a sure goal as DeGi, the Landmark Player of the Year, was winding up to shoot.

Goucher had possession, but couldn’t get past Celentano who made another one-on-one save. The next Gopher possession ended with a goal, as Tiet scored his second to bring Goucher to within 7-5.

Playing in front of the biggest crowd of the season, the Rangers needed to make one more big stop to give themselves the chance to put the game on ice. In a play almost identical to one from the Rangers’ win over Goucher on Senior Day, Hoge brought the ball high to the right to begin an attack. Henry Paulin, who got beat on this same play the previous time, stayed right with Hoge, driving him outside. The Gopher attacker did manage to get a step on Ranger, but found himself face-to-face with Celentano who smothered the shot and started the Ranger clear.

Drew turned the ball over, but Young’s brave hit on a Gopher defender won the ball back for the Rangers. The next two Ranger possession wasted valuable time before Drew delivered the knock-out blow with a goal from Bud to Sayers with 1:19 left to play.

With Ranger Stadium rocking, Dowiak, of course, won the next face off and Drew ran out the clock. With half the student body rushing the field and Head Coach Tom Leanos soaked by a Gatorade shower the Rangers celebrated in a way that few would call moderation, but it was well earned.

A victory charge over to the student section with the Landmark Conference plaque, presented to the seniors Jeff Sayers, Jordon Block, Rob Budziszewski and Mark Monroe by Landmark Commissioner John Reeves, showed the Rangers’ appreciation for the impressive crowd support during the playoff run.