PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Delaware rallied to tie the score late in the third quarter, but Drexel scored the final four goals of the game the rest of the way and upended the No. 14 ranked Blue Hens 11-7 in a key Colonial Athletic Association men’s lacrosse showdown Saturday afternoon at Vidas Field.

The Blue Hens (6-4, 1-1 CAA), who had defeated the Dragons by one-goal each of the last two seasons, dropped their second straight game and their fourth in the last five outings. Drexel improved to 8-3 (2-0 CAA) as four different players scored two or more goals.

Delaware led in almost every category, but couldn’t manage a goal over the final 21 minutes of the game in falling to the Dragons. The Hens held a 42-30 advantage in shots, won 13 of 21 faceoffs, held a 37-24 advantage in groundballs, and committed two less turnovers than Drexel.

Dan Deckelbaum (at right) scored two goals and dished out an assist while Adam Zuder-Havens, Jordan Hall, and Chris Hichborn each added a goal and an assist. Hall extended his point-scoring streak to 23 straight games while Deckelbaum scored for the 19th straight contest.

Delaware senior All-American Alex Smith won 13 of 21 faceoffs and became the all-time NCAA leader in career faceoffs taken as he upped his total to 1,273, breaking the record of 1,247 by Steve Vecchione of Johns Hopkins in 1990-93. Smith also holds the NCAA record for career faceoffs won with 880.

Andrew Chapman led Drexel with three goals and one assist while Jon Van Houten added two goals and two assists, Colin Ambler contributed two goals and an assist, and Mike Filippone chipped in with one goal. Drexel goalkeeper Bruce Bickford turned back 13 Delaware shots.

Drexel built a 5-1 lead early in the second quarter after two straight goals by Ambler, but the Hens came back to narrow the gap to 6-4 at the half by scoring three of the final four goals of the stanza over the final nine minutes, including two by Deckelbaum.

The Hens scored the first two goals of the second half as Kevin Kaminski and Nick LoManto scored in the first seven minutes to knot the score at 6-6. Drexel’s Van Houten gave Drexel the lead back at 7-6 with 6:35 left in the third quarter, but Delaware came right back as Hichborn scored 25 seconds later to tie the game at 7-7.

But that would be Delaware’s final tally of the game as the Dragons shut the Hens down over the final 21 minutes. Drexel’s Chapman scored what proved to be the game-winner with 4:33 left in the third quarter for an 8-7 lead and Casey scored with 22 seconds left in the stanza for a 9-7 advantage. Van Houten and Filippone each scored in the final quarter to increase the Drexel lead.

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