The Rangers secured a crushing 14-8 victory over Neumann University in their first game of the season on Feb. 11, kicking off on a high note before they move into conference play in a few weeks.
The game initially started out in the Neumann Knights’ favor as they scored the first two points. The Rangers quickly recovered, with Homero Ortiz (‘25) scoring the first goal for Drew. Craig Wilkie (‘23) and Brett Spafford (‘24) each fired off goals for the Rangers, causing Drew to lead 4-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The score remained close in the second quarter, as the Knights trailed by only one point with a score of 6-5 as the end of the first half approached.
With a few minutes remaining in the second quarter, play was temporarily interrupted when one of Drew’s players sustained an injury on the field. His teammates showed their respect by taking a knee while Drew’s athletic trainers attended to him on the turf. Details of the injury are unknown, but the player was soon carried off the field and the game resumed.
The Rangers did not let this injury rattle them; they surged ahead of the Knights as Wilkie fired off three goals in the last four minutes of the quarter. Drew closed out the first half with a 9-5 lead over Neumann.
Drew only increased their lead in the second half of the game, although the Knights did manage to score two goals in the third quarter. The Rangers did not let up on the intensity and offered Neuman no chance of catching up, scoring three more goals in the third quarter and two in the final quarter.
Wilkie was truly unstoppable on Saturday; he scored once more in each quarter, putting him at a total of seven goals for the entire game.
Also leading in goals for the Rangers was Mike DeMayo (‘25). DeMayo scored three goals throughout the game, putting away two consecutively in the third quarter to quell any hope of a comeback from the Knights.
Significantly contributing to Drew’s substantial win against Neumann was goalie Sawyer Kennedy (‘26), who played in the second half of the game. In his first ever game for the Rangers, Kennedy made 13 saves against the Knights’ attempts to score.
The Rangers travel to Pennsylvania on Saturday, Feb. 18 to take on Albright College.
Charlotte Wells is a junior majoring in English and French.
