Drexel Dragons men's lacrosse
Drexel Dragons | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Founded | 1941 |
University | Drexel University |
Conference | Colonial Athletic Association |
Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Coach | Brian Voelker (since 2009) |
Stadium |
Vidas Field (capacity: 1,500) |
Nickname | Dragons |
Colors |
Navy Blue and Gold[1] |
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals | |
2014 | |
NCAA Tournament Appearances | |
NCAA - 2014 USILA - 1972, 1973 | |
Conference Tournament Champions | |
2014 | |
Conference Regular Season Champions | |
2014, 2008, 2007, 1978 (ECC) |
The Drexel Dragons men's lacrosse team represents Drexel University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. Drexel currently competes as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and plays its home games at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2014.
History
Lacrosse was established at Drexel in 1941 under coach Maury McMains. At the time, the university was known as Drexel Institute of Technology.[2] Drexel's first USILA All-American was Ray Greene, who after serving in World War Two transferred to Johns Hopkins, where he became a Hall of Fame midfielder. Drexel's 1947 schedule included games against Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Virginia, Penn State and Penn.
Through the 1950s, highlights included Drexel reaching as high as number six in the standings in 1952, finishing the year with a five and two record. In 1958, Dick Young achieved first-team All-American honors at midfielder, as well as leading the team to an 8 and 2 record, with a win over a Lehigh team who would go on to win the "Class C" lacrosse national title the following season.
In 1967, Drexel lacrosse aligned with the Middle Atlantic Conference and in 1975 the East Coast Conference. During this era, Lynn Ferguson, a two-time All-American midfielder, was named an All-American in both football and lacrosse in the same year. Drexel reached the small college USILA tournaments in both 1972 and 1973, with records of 11-3 and 9-4, respectively. The 1972 season also included a 14 to 6 win over the innovative Morgan State Bears lacrosse team.
In 1978, Dennis Fink earned the University’s first-ever NCAA Division I All-America honor for lacrosse, was the first Drexel player to lead the nation in scoring (with 98 points) and currently remains among the all-time leader in several NCAA Lacrosse records. Fink also led Drexel to their first ECC conference title, as well as a 10 and 2 record.[3]
Drexel would later realign with the North Atlantic Conference (1992) and the America East Conference (1997) before settling in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2002.
The 1998 men's lacrosse squad finished with twelve wins against two defeats, including a 14 to 10 defeat of top 20 Towson University, eleven straight wins to start the season and a number 19 national ranking. In 2007, Drexel lacrosse defeated University of Virginia, ranked number one at the time and the defending National Champion, Drexel's first victory over a number one ranked Division I team in any sport.[4]
In 2008 the Dragons set a school record with 13 wins, ranking as high as 10th in the nation and reaching the Colonial Tournament finals before losing 10-9 in overtime to Hofstra, narrowly missing out on an NCAA tournament bid.[5] In 2010, the team reached their highest ever national ranking at number 7 in the nation following a win over then number three Notre Dame, the eventual NCAA Division I tournament runner up. Drexel reached the conference finals again in 2012, after upsetting Penn State, but lost to number one ranked Massachusetts in the finals.[6]
In 2014, Drexel scored in the third overtime as the Dragons came back from a three-goal deficit with five minutes to go in the game, to defeat Hofstra 11-10, win its first Colonial Athletic Association championship and earn their first NCAA tournament berth in lacrosse. In the first round of the tournament, the Dragons eliminated fourth seeded Penn by a score of 16-11. The highlight of the game was three consecutive goals by Drexel in a span of just over 11 seconds at the end of the first half. The Dragons moved on to the quarterfinals where they lost to Denver 15-6 at Delaware Stadium. The attendance for the game of 7,222 was the largest in Drexel lacrosse history.[7]
Prior to 2014, Drexel had not appeared in any NCAA Lacrosse Tournaments, though the team did get invitations to the 1972 and 1973 USILA small college tournaments.
Drexel has had 44 lacrosse All-Americans since beginning the sport in 1941.[8]
In 74 seasons, Drexel has an all-time record of 417 wins, 437 losses and 3 ties.
Notable athletes and coaches
- Chris Bates: Former head coach who played for the Philadelphia Wings, winning NLL titles in 1994, 1995 and 1998, and making the All-Pro team in 1996. In 2009, Bates was named head lacrosse coach at Princeton University, replacing Bill Tierney.[9]
- Scott Stewart: The 3rd overall pick in the 2001 NLL draft,[10] accumulating 151 goals with 162 assists for 313 points over a ten-year NLL career.
- Jeff Spano: 2001 graduate who played professionally from 2002 to 2006 with the Philadelphia Wings and the New York Titans,[11][12] with 28 goals and 78 assists for 106 points in 81 games.
- Robert Church: The fifth overall selection in the 2013 NLL entry draft.[13]
- Ben McIntosh: The first overall selection in the 2013 Western Lacrosse Association draft, as well as the first overall selection in the 2014 National Lacrosse League draft.[14]
- Ray Greene: Played on one of the first Drexel lacrosse teams and selected first-team All-American in 1943. Greene was elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1981.[15]
- Tom Hayes: Former coach who also coached at Rutgers, elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1989.[16]
- Brian Voelker: Current head coach, elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015.[17]
- Dennis Fink: Earned university's first Division I All-America honor for lacrosse. Fink was the first Drexel player to lead the nation in scoring and holds two NCAA Division I men's lacrosse records: points-per-game for a season (98 points in 12 games for an 8.17 per game average) and assists-per-game for a season (63 assists in 12 games for a 5.25 per game average) in 1978.[18]
- Lynn B. Ferguson: All-American in both football and lacrosse for Drexel.[19]
- Walter "Sonny" Bajkowski: Currently ranked 20th all-time in Division II total points for a season (96 points in 14 games) and 16th all-time in points-per-game for a season (6.86 ppg for 14 games) in 1972.[20]
Annual record
Year | Wins | Losses | Percent | Conference | Playoffs | National Rank | RPI | SOS | Power Rating (1) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4th | CAA Semifinals | 35 | 23 | 30 | |
2015 | 7 | 8 | .467 | 2nd | CAA Semifinals | 32 | 20 | 37 | |
2014 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1st | CAA Title, NCAA Quarterfinals (2) | 9 | 8 | 22 | 18 |
2013 | 11 | 4 | .733 | 2nd | CAA Semifinals | 18 | 18 | 30 | 24 |
2012 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 3rd | CAA Finals (3) | 18 | 17 | 9 | 17 |
2011 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 5th | 26 | 26 | 16 | ||
2010 | 10 | 5 | .667 | 3rd | CAA Semifinals | 13 | 20 | 25 | 14 |
2009 | 7 | 8 | .467 | 3rd | CAA Semifinals | 35 | 40 | 34 | |
2008 | 13 | 4 | .764 | 1st | CAA Finals (4) | 15 | 19 | 39 | 20 |
2007 | 11 | 5 | .688 | 1st | CAA Semifinals | 17 | 20 | 32 | 22 |
2006 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 5th | 39 | 33 | 30 | ||
2005 | 9 | 5 | .643 | 5th | 29 | 41 | 29 | ||
2004 | 4 | 9 | .310 | 5th | 43 | 39 | 36 | ||
2003 | 6 | 8 | .430 | 4th | CAA Semifinals | 31 | 37 | ||
2002 | 9 | 5 | .643 | 4th | 30 | 32 | |||
2001 | 5 | 8 | .385 | 6th | 36 | 35 | |||
2000 | 1 | 10 | .091 | 6th | 32 | 44 | |||
1999 | 6 | 7 | .491 | 5th | 37 | 36 | |||
1998 | 12 | 2 | .791 | 2nd | 19 | 42 | 28 | ||
1997 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 6th | 41 | 38 |
- (1) Laxpower Power Rating[21]
- (2) Won CAA tournament finals in three overtimes over Hofstra 11-10. Defeated Penn 16-11 in NCAA 1st Round. Lost to Denver 15-6 in NCAA Quarterfinals.
- (3) Lost CAA tournament finals 18-12 to Massachusetts.
- (4) Lost CAA tournament finals 10-9 in overtime to Hofstra.
See also
References
- ↑ "Colors for Digital Media - Drexel". Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- ↑ Songe, Alice H. (1978). American Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. Scarecrow Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780810811379. Retrieved February 25, 2016 – via Google Books.
Adopted present name [Drexel University] in 1970.
- ↑ Web Archive Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame Dennis Fink - 2001
- ↑ "Drexel Men's Lacrosse Shocks Top-Ranked Virginia, 11-10". Drexel Dragons. 2007-02-18.
- ↑ "Hofstra Tops #11 Drexel in OT to Win 2008 CAA Championship". LaxPower. May 4, 2008.
- ↑ "First Place on the Line When No. 7 Drexel Visits Towson on Saturday". Drexel Archives. 2010-04-17.
- ↑ "Drexel Uses an 11-Sec. 3-Goal Burst to Derail No. 9 Penn, NCAA 2014 Tournament 1st Round". LaxPower. 2014-05-11.
- ↑ LaxPower: All American list
- ↑ "Chris Bates Named Head Lacrosse Coach at Princeton". Laxpower.com. 2009-06-29.
- ↑ "Combs Selected By Philadelphia In NLL Draft". University of Maryland. August 27, 2001. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
The 2001 National Lacrosse League Draft First Round: 3. New Jersey Storm - Scott Stewart - Drexel
- ↑ Pope, Kristian (March 30, 2002). "This rookie still can't believe he's a Wing". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "More Player signings for New York". OurSports Central. August 24, 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
Jeff Spano signs with New York after playing five seasons with the Philadelphia Wings
- ↑ "Edmonton Rush trade to take Drexel University lacrosse star Robert Church with fifth pick in NLL Draft, 2013 NLL Draft". THE EDMONTON SUN. September 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Ben McIntosh the first among many Junior Adanacs headlining last night's WLA draft, 2013 WLA Draft". ILIndoor.com. February 5, 2013.
- ↑ "National Lacrosse Hall of Fame: Melvin R. Greene". US Lacrosse. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "National Lacrosse Hall of Fame: Thomas R. Hayes". US Lacrosse. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ Ohanian, Paul (May 20, 2015). "2015 Inductees Named for National Lacrosse Hall of Fame". US Lacrosse. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
The 2015 inductees are: Jake Curran, Dom Fin, (...) and Brian Voelker.
- ↑ "Division I Men's Lacrosse Records: Individual Records" (pdf). NCAA. 2016. p. 2. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Drexel Dragons Hall of Fame: Lynn B. Ferguson Class of 1972". Drexel Dragons. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Division II Men's Lacrosse Records: Season Records" (pdf). NCAA. 2016. p. 4. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.laxpower.com/update14/binmen/rating01.php