Hempstead, NY – Pride junior Ryan Tierney tied his career high with eight points but Dragon junior Matt Varian led a five-goal, fourth quarter run with three goals to erase an 11-8 deficit and lead Drexel to a 13-12 victory over Hofstra in a Colonial Athletic Association contest on Senior Day at James M. Shuart Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Dragons improved to 6-6 on the season and 2-2 in conference play as they clinched a CAA Championship Tournament spot. Hofstra, which dropped its second consecutive game, falls to 4-9 overall and 1-3 in the CAA.

Tierney tallied five goals and three assists, posting five goals or more for the third time this season and a hat-trick for the eighth time in 2019. Sophomore Joey Elarde posted season-highs of three goals and one assist for four points. Sophomore Dylan McIntosh added two goals and one assist. Sophomore Bryce Tolmie and freshman Nick Williams scored the other Pride goals. Sophomore goalie Bobby Casey recorded 13 saves in the Pride goal.

Varian was tied for the team point lead in the contest with three goals and three assists while classmate Reid Bowering added four goals, including two in the five goal spurt, and two assists. Senior Marshal King posted two goals and three assists while Jack Mulcahy, Nick Fox, Ryan Genord and Matt Soran each added solo goals. Freshman goalie Russ Blumenthal stopped 15 shots for the victory in the Dragons cage.

In a game that featured five tied scores but just one lead change, the Pride never relinquished the lead until the fourth quarter. The Pride led 3-1 after one quarter only to see Drexel tie the contest with two goals to open the second period. The two teams exchanged the next four goals before Tierney scored three straight goals, one at the end of the second and two in the third to give the Pride an 8-5 lead with 6:34 to play in the third.

The Dragons climbed back to within one at 9-8 by scoring three of the next four goals as Soran, Fox and Genord dented the twine. Hofstra answered with Elarde and McIntosh goals in the final 1:22 of the third for the 11-8 lead after three quarters.

Varian led the fourth quarter comeback with two man-up goals around an even strength tally in the first 2:09 of the fourth to tie the game at 11-11. The Dragons converted seven of nine man-up opportunities in the contest. Leading scorer Reid Bowering then scored consecutive goals at the 8:14 and 4:57 marks to give Drexel their first lead of the contest.

Elarde would score 36 seconds after Bowering's last goal to cut the deficit to 13-12. But the Pride could not get the equalizer and squandered a potential tying opportunity on an offside call in the final minute.

Hofstra will close out the regular season next Friday, April 26 when the Pride travel to Connecticut to face the Stags of Fairfield at 7 p.m.

Notes
- Hofstra now leads the all-time series with Drexel, 24-8. The game was also being played for the HEADstrong Foundation's Hero Bowl series with Drexel. That series now stands at 3-3 with the road team winning each match-up.
- Tierney reached the 50-point milestone in a season for the first time in his career. He also climbed into a 10th place tie on the Hofstra career scoring list and now has 97 goals and 49 assists in 41 games. The 97 career goals moves him past Doug Shanahan's (1998-2001) 95 and into 10th place on the career goals chart.
- The Pride outshot Drexel, 39-36 while the Dragons picked up 32 ground balls to the Pride's 31.
- Goalie Bobby Casey recorded double-digit saves for the ninth time this season.
- Elarde recorded the second multi-goal contest of his career with his first hat-trick.