HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 11, 2007) – Senior midfielder Matt Althauser led the Ducks with five goals and three assists as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team advanced to the championship game of the 2007 ECAC Division III Metro Championship with a 21-5 victory over Kean University on Friday night at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J.
Althauser and Bielicky gave Stevens a 4-0 lead in the first quarter as they tallied two goals and an assist apiece. Althauser got the Ducks on the board just 1:01 into the game on a pass from sophomore midfielder Matt Keating. Althauser tallied his second goal at the 5:49 mark on a feed from Bielicky. Bielicky added two straight goals within a 3:16 span of each other. Senior attack Steve Gill (Patchogue, N.Y.) connected on a pass from freshman attack Scott Leathem (Fairlawn, N.J.) with 1:15 remaining to cut the Ducks lead to three (4-1).
Stevens netted seven goals in the second quarter to put the game out of reach. Bielicky picked up his third goal of the game 1:09 into the quarter on a shot that hit the post and bounced into the goal. Sophomore attack Eric Smith picked up his first goal of the game at the 11:40 mark. Oreskovich fired a laser past junior goaltender Dave Nichols (Florham Park, N.J.) to give Stevens a 7-1 advantage. Senior attack Joe Van Sickle sandwiched a goal between a pair of goals by Richards. Althauser dumped a goal over Nichols' head to complete the scoring for the Ducks in the quarter. Gill scored a man-up goal for the Cougars on the feed from junior attack Dennis Lukacsko (Lincoln Park, N.Y.), but the Ducks headed into the break up 11-2.
Stevens scored three straight goals to open up the third quarter. Sophomore midfielder Rob Fairchild scored his first goal of the game on a pass from Althauser. Althauser netted his fourth goal of the game 3:20 later, and Oreskovich scored a man-up goal at the 8:20 mark to put Stevens on top 14-2. Gill totaled his third goal for the Cougars at the 7:35 mark, but Bielicky and Oreskovich added goals within the last 1:25 of the quarter to give the Ducks a 16-3 lead with one quarter to play.
Stevens added five more goals in the last quarter of play, which was highlighted by two straight goals by Prakopcyk to end the game.
Stevens owned a 55-23 advantage in shots and 53-36 edge in ground balls in the game. The Ducks won 18 of 28 faceoffs overall.
Stevens will host the winner of the other semifinal match-up between Montclair State University and Drew University at noon on Sunday.
