The Drew Rangers lacrosse team suffered a devastating loss to the Merchant Marines on Saturday, March 18. With a final score of 17-18 in overtime, the Rangers stumbled in the last quarter and were defeated by the scoring engine of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
The Drew Rangers entered the fourth quarter with a five-goal lead but could not manage to construct an offense against the Mariners, with only four shots attempted compared to 19 from the Mariners. The loss progressed the Rangers’ record to 5-4 this season.
The Drew Rangers commanded the opening of the game with an early goal scored in the first 30 seconds of the quarter and an astounding lead created throughout the first half. Drew goalie Matt Durate (’25) saved six goals in the first quarter, helping the team to reach a score of 7-2 by the end of the quarter.
The Mariners swapped goalies going into the second quarter, but their defense could not do much against the Rangers’ dominant offense. However, the Mariners’ offense pushed back, and by the end of the quarter, Drew had barely extended their lead, finishing the second quarter with a score of 13-7.
Coming back from halftime, the Rangers seemed well-positioned for the remainder of the game. The third quarter saw less aggression from the Rangers’ offense, with the Mariners managing to narrow the gap, ending with a score of 15-10.
The fourth quarter ushered in the Rangers’ downfall. The Mariners scored three goals in the first half of the quarter while Drew answered back with their last two goals of the game, bringing the score to 17-13.
With 1:55 left on the clock, the Mariners scored and quickly stole the ball back after the face-off against Drew. They charged toward the right side of the goalie but could not find an opening. The Mariners called a timeout, and, seconds after coming back into the game, managed to score against the Rangers.
With only 1:11 left, Drew managed to win the face-off but lost it seconds later to the Mariners, who drove forward and scored with 30 seconds left.
Needing one more goal to tie the game, the Mariners won the face-off and drove up the goalkeeper’s right side before again calling a time-out with 20 seconds left.
Upon resuming, the Mariners scored with eight seconds left, tying the game 17-17 and forcing overtime. Drew started off aggressively, shooting three on-target shots, all ending up blocked by the goalie, before the Mariners recovered the ball and took the offensive. On their second shot, the Mariners scored the winning goal.
Despite the devastating loss, the Rangers’ season is not over. The Rangers lacrosse team will next play against the Susquehanna River Hawks on Saturday, March 25 for their first Landmark Conference game of the season.
Brandon Dennis is a junior majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing.
