The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team was eliminated from playoff contention after suffering a 15-4 loss to the Drexel Dragons on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, Pa.

With the win, the Dragons clinched a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title while the Pioneers were left out of the playoff picture after their fourth-straight conference loss.

"Drexel is ranked 14th in the country," said coach Thomas Mariano. "We had some good opportunities and didn't capitalize on them when we needed to."

Drexel leads the all-time series 6-1. The Pioneers' lone win in the series came in a 2004 matchup at Drexel.

Coming into the game, the Pioneers were looking to snap out of an offensive drought, including being outscored 37-8 over their last two games.

"We've hit a rough stretch of a couple of games these last few weeks and we haven't been able to bounce back the way we had hoped," said sophomore Stephen Gerhard.

Playing in front of a home crowd of 944, the Dragons' defense was able to keep Sacred Heart off the scoreboard in the first half.

The Pioneers' record now stands at 6-5 overall. With the loss, however, their conference record dropped to 1-4.

"Drexel is a very good team and we played hard and didn't quit. We fought till the end of the game and gave a good effort," said sophomore Jon Flood.

Drexel's offense exploded for nine-straight goals to start the game. Drexel senior Andrew Chapman scored three of his game-high five goals in the first quarter and helped his team jump out to a 6-0 lead.

The Dragons outshot the Pioneers 21-3 in the first 15 minutes of play. Their lead swelled to double digits when sophomore Adam Dennis scored a pair of goals in the final three minutes of the third quarter.

"We're playing a very competitive schedule in a tough CAA league and Drexel just out-played us," said Gerhard.

Sacred Heart managed to score four goals in the second half, led by Gerhard's goal and assist. Sophomores Flood, Evan Morgan, and junior Bobby Rushton also contributed to the Pioneer scoring effort with one goal each.

"We just came out flat and got into a hole way too early. It is hard to win when you're scoreless in the first half," Rushton said.

Senior goalkeeper Ricardo Vargas played over 50 minutes in goal and recorded 22 saves, including eight in the first period and 13 for the half.

Chapman notched his fifth goal of the day three and a half minutes into the third quarter to open up a 9-0 advantage for Drexel.

The Pioneers temporarily broke the Drexel momentum at 10:45 into the third period with a goal by Morgan off a feed from senior captain Tony Tanzi.

Tanzi is Sacred Heart's leading active scorer, totaling 40 career goals and 18 career assists.

Sacred Heart tallied 32 shots on goal while the Dragons fired 58 shots on the Pioneer net. Vargas and junior Mike Murtha combined for 22 saves, while Drexel had only 13.

There was a stretch in the game when six penalties were issued in five minutes. Junior Zach Smith received a penalty in the first at 4:05. Senior Brett McGlensey was issued a thirty second penalty for an illegal procedure with 9:20 left in the fourth.

The Dragons entered the fourth period with a 12-2 lead. The Pioneers were unable to recover and ended the game with a 15-4 loss.

"The past three games have been hard losses but we are looking to rebound this Saturday against Delaware," said Flood. "We need to work hard in practice this last week and, in return, hopefully get a win."

The Pioneers will close out the regular season on Saturday April 26, when they host the University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hens on "Senior Day."

"We have had a good season and we have one game left. Saturday will be 'Senior Day' and we want to send our seniors out winning," said Mariano. "They have done a ton for this program."