Spring Break
Hofstra comes back, steals Drexel's NCAA bid
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Sports
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Drexel led Hofstra 9-7 with under a minute-and-a-half to go and the celebration to follow seemed all too fitting for a team that had accomplished so much this year.
Unfortunately for the Dragons, the Pride had one last comeback in them and ultimately stole Drexel's automatic NCAA bid right out of its hands.
Anthony Muscarella and Dan Stein scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at nine apiece during the final 1:18 of regulation and Tom Dooley sent Hofstra to the NCAA Tournament, scoring the dramatic game-winner just 11 seconds into overtime, as the No. 2 Pride shocked the top-seeded Dragons (No. 11 Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll) 10-9 in the CAA Championship game May 3 at Vidas Field.
"I'm just disappointed for them [the Dragons]," Drexel head coach Chris Bates said. "I'm just disappointed the season's got to end. I thought we were a playoff team and we are a playoff team and you know we didn't get bounces late. My heart goes out for that locker room and those guys because they played great. They did everything we asked all year long and they deserved to be an NCAA Tournament team."
Drexel (13-4) established a two-goal cushion at the 12:40 mark of the final quarter when Dennis Murray's shot was deflected in front and found the back of the net, putting the Dragons up 9-7 and giving a team that had worked so hard to reach this point thoughts of its first CAA title and a berth in the field of 16.
However, 11:22 later, with 1,042 faithful Drexel fans all ready to erupt, Muscarella came out of a scrum in front and scored, firing an over-the-shoulder shot, cutting the lead to 9-8 and putting some doubt in the minds of those who were hoping to witness history.
Just 27 seconds later, Stein, who had been stopped by Dragons' goalie Bruce Bickford on a breakaway earlier in the season, followed with the tying tally off a loose rebound that turned the game and silenced the crowd.
After regulation time expired, the Pride won the opening face-off in the extra session and Jay Card gave a perfect cross-goal feed to Dooley, who scored, sending an elated Hofstra sideline storming onto the field, while Drexel players collapsed in shellshock and wondered what could've been.
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