Acorn

Fairleigh Dickinson University -- Florham is considered a rival by each and every Drew team. The winner of the Drew-FDU game gets bragging rights in Madison for the rest of the season.

The match-up between the schools' two women's lacrosse teams is no less heated than any other sport. However, in the Rangers' Tuesday game against FDU, Drew scored 18 goals to the Devils 2, and the game featured little of the intensity that usually marks a rivalry.

Yesterday's game under the lights was as different as it could be. Matched against the nationally-ranked Lions from The College of New Jersey, Drew's net was under fire from the beginning.

The Rangers were able to convert four goals, but fell to the Lions 10-4. It was a tight contest all the way, featuring stellar play, especially from sophomore Rachel Hurvitz.

"She had a spectactacular game offensively and defensively," senior Sarah Bergmann said.

Earlier in the week, the Rangers had their way with FDU. After the opening whistle, there was never any doubt that Drew would win the game. The Rangers scored 9 straight goals before FDU found the back of the net. Drew extended their 11-1 halftime lead to 18-2 by the end of the game.

Sophomore Alyssa Bobe had a breakout performance in the game. Bobe registered a hat-trick in both halves, finishing the game with 6 goals. She was the leading scorer in the game and set a personal career record.

Although Bobe's scoring slew was noteworthy, senior Whitney McMullan's achievements were even more impressive in the game. McMullan needed 3 assists to surpass the all-time career assists leader at Drew. At the 11:34 mark in the second half, McMullan assisted senior Anne Luetzow for her 3rd assist of the game and 126th assist of her four-year career. Luetzow was also productive, scoring 3 goals and adding 3 assists herself.

In the Rangers' previous game, Drew traveled to Elizabethtown College. The Rangers gave up an early goal but then solidified their defense. Elizabethtown did not score again until the last minute of the game. Drew scored 11 straight goals and the game ended with Drew on top 11-2.

Hurvitz led the Rangers offensively with 4 goals. Bobe and sophomore Courtney Cunningham added 2 goals each.

Defense was critical in the low-scoring game. Senior Anne Dorrance led the defense with 6 groundballs and 2 caused turnovers. Bobe also helped out on the defensive end, picking up 3 groundballs and causing 3 turnovers. Freshman Lindsay Frost picked up 4 more groundballs.

The Rangers' two wins against Middle Atlantic Conference opponents extend their lead in the conference standings. Drew currently ranks first in the conference at 7-0. They have only 3 conference games left before the beginning of the post-season tournament.

"It's exciting to be 7-0 in the conference," Dorrance said, "but there are two more big games left. We'll have to prove ourselves in the playoffs.

"We really want a championship because we've been one of the top teams for the last four years but we've never made it to NCAAs."

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