Drew Men's Lacrosse Captures First Win
MADISON, N.J. - Drew men's lacrosse broke into the win column with a resounding 12-6 win over Babson at Ranger Stadium on Thursday. The Rangers jumped out to an early 8-2 halftime lead and held solid through the second half to pick up their first win of the season. Jon Bucknam and Rob Budziszewski each scored four goals and Sean McNulty added two with four assists as well. The Ranger keepers, Michael Celetano and Brad Mendelson, split the game between the posts and made a combined 13 saves. EJ Peterson scored a pair of goals for Babson (0-6).
Drew capitalized on an early Babson penalty to score an EMO goal after less than four minutes of play as Jon Bucknam found Sean McNulty in front for the junior to rip home for the left side. Bucknam then scored the second less than a minute later as he took Steve Carnes' feed for a 2-0 lead. After McNulty added a third, the Beavers got on the board with 5:15 left in the period on the power play. Bucknam made it 4-1 Drew by taking it from left to right across goal and firing high into the net from eight meters out.
The Rangers put up another 4-1 period in the second as they continued to put pressure on the Beavers. Jon Dowiak was a key player in the first as he dominated the face-off circle winning 10 of the 12 restarts. Bucknam again played provided as Sean McNulty saved a ground ball from leaving the zone and quickly found Bucknam at the far side. The sophomore flipped a one-touch pass to Budziszewski who buried it inside the post on his second step from six meters out.
Babson pulled one back through Matt Enright with just over four left in the half, 6-2 Drew. The Rangers then confirmed that they would not let this one slip away as they added two more in the final minute of play. Steve Carnes grabbed a loose ball ten meters out from goal and fired first time to beat the Babson keeper high with 46 ticks left. Again Dowiak's success on the draws was a key as he took the ensuing face off to set up another Drew possession. After a wise time out called by Drew Head Coach Tom Leanos, the Rangers tacked on another as McNulty took it behind the net and found a cutting Budziszewski. Bud (he's going to be called "Bud" for the rest of this as his name is melting my spell checker) tucked in the bottom corner from just outside the crease for his second goal of the game and an 8-2 lead heading into the break.
The Rangers slowed down the pace in the second half, but Bucknam got them started with an individual effort three minutes in. The sophomore took it from the corner, beat his man with speed and slammed home after curling around the cage. Bud got his hat trick four minutes later as McNulty again found him in a tight space in front of net. The senior put it in left handed while getting hit for a 10-2 lead. Drew gave one back quickly as Bryan Wilbur scored from distance.
The Rangers opened the final period by again grabbing an early goal. McNulty took the ball into the attacking third from midfield, beating his man down the right side before finding Carnes in the middle for a tidy finish. The Beavers added a pair in a hurry to make things a bit nervy, but Bud put in his fourth from just outside the crease off a Henry Paulin assist to kill of the game; a good sign for Ranger fans as the senior's finishing was a welcome skill in front of goal. Babson tacked on a late tally for the 12-6 final.
It was a welcome win for the Rangers as they got the first in the win column after a tough stretch of games. Their Landmark Conference debut is next as they travel to Moravian next Wednesday for their next contest.