PHILADELPHIA – An 8-0 scoring run stretched across the end of the first half and the start of the second was the catalyst for a 17-11 victory for the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team over Drexel at Vidas Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Mark Watters got the Hawks on the board after two minutes, but back-to-back tallies by the home team put SJU behind, 2-1, at the 8:44 mark of the opening quarter.
 
• Matthew Akers drew level for Saint Joseph's (4-2) just 25 seconds later, and Trae Ika looked to have given the Hawks the lead heading into the second with less than 90 seconds to go, but an immediate answer with a minute remaining sent the teams into the second quarter on level terms at 3-3.
 
• Drexel (3-4) went ahead five minutes into the second, but the Hawks would dominate the next 15-plus minutes of game action to take the lead for good.  Watters struck again with eight and a half to go in the frame before Ben Dutton tallied back-to-back goals on assists from Richie LaCalandra; LaCalandra then set up Watters for his third of the day before scoring a goal of his own to put the Hawks on top, 8-4, heading into halftime.
 
• Michael Gaughan put the Hawks into double digits shortly after the break before Ika and Liam Quinn capped off the run with goals less than a minute apart to make it an 11-4 game with 9:38 to go in the third.
 
• The Dragons potted a pair to get back within five, but LaCalandra tallied again with 1:44 to go in the period to give the Hawks a 12-6 advantage after three.
 
• Ryan Bradley opened his account for the season before LaCalandra finished off his hat trick to push the margin to 14-6; another Drexel goal was then followed in quick succession by scores from Jack McGorry and Dutton to make it 16-7 midway through the fourth.
 
• The hosts would score four of the last five goals of the game, sandwiched around a goal by Braedon Chayes, to set the final margin.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Dutton, LaCalandra, and Watters netted hat tricks for the Hawks, while LaCalandra added five assists for a total of eight points in the contest.  Ika scored a pair and added an assist as well for a three-point day.
 
• Tommy Gross made 13 saves between the pipes for the Hawks, while Drew McGill made eight for the Dragons.
 
• Conor Trant and Levi Verch scooped up a game-high seven ground balls on the day, while Bradley and Quinn grabbed five apiece.  The Hawks forced the Dragons into 10 of their 18 turnovers on the day, with Bradley and Verch causing two each.
 
• The Hawks held a 48-36 advantage in shots and collected 40 ground balls to the hosts' 29.  Drexel won the face-off battle, taking 17-of-31 at the X.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks host Villanova on Saturday.