The Drew men’s soccer team recorded a 2-1 comeback victory over the Wilkes University Colonels during a fantastic Landmark Conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 9, in Ranger Stadium.
Coming off a 2-0 win against Elizabethtown, the Rangers came out strong in the beginning of the first half despite the Colonels’ notching the match’s first goal that resulted from a successful penalty shot.
The Rangers maintained their strength to close out the first half, creating several scoring opportunities. Goalkeeper David Hoyt (C’24, G’25) made all three of his saves in the first half, keeping the Colonels to only one goal going into the second half of play.
In the fifty-eighth minute, James Cahill (‘26) scored with a high shot from the right side of the field. This tied the score at 1-1. Cahill has been a leading scorer for the Rangers tallying 23 so far in his career.
Drew outshot the Colonels, maintaining a 21-9 shot advantage.
The second score for the Rangers came in the last three minutes of the game, as Vitalli Datsyk (‘28) received a long pass from Thomas Zurkowski (‘25) and successfully shot the ball between a diving defender and the goalkeeper to secure a crucial conference win.
In his first season as a Ranger, Datsyk has had eight shots on goal, appeared in 10 matches and scored two goals, proving himself to be a key playmaker and staple in the Ranger lineup.
Coming off a stretch of away games, this home-field victory sets the men’s soccer team up for success as the season continues. The team is currently ranked seventh in the Landmark Conference, maintaining a 7-4-2 record overall. The team looks forward to repeating their success in conference play from last season, where they made it through to the semi-finals.
The Rangers’ next match will be against Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, on Oct. 19 at 3:30 p.m. They return to Ranger Stadium on Oct. 23 to take on the University of Scranton Royals at 7 p.m.
Gillian Sampson is a graduate student pursuing her master’s in education.
