Dragons undone by goose

This goose didn't lay a golden egg, but it did cost the Drexel men's varsity eight a chance at a gold medal.

The Dragons were in the lead in the men's varsity eight with about 500 meters to go on the 2,000-meter course Saturday in the Dad Vail when a goose got tangled in the oars on the starboard side.

Their timing thrown off, their momentum broken, the Dragons couldn't recover and were passed by Michigan and Virginia.

"We were going strong," said Tim Drake, a sophomore from Holy Spirit High who was in the No. 7 seat, which is on the port side. "We were winning the race by about four seats and were just about to start our sprint. Then our whole starboard side hit a goose. At that level, if one thing goes wrong, you just can't get back the speed you need to be competitive. It was shocking. Up to that point, it was the best race we'd had all season."

Michigan won the regatta's glamour event. - Ray Parrillo