SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 8, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team fell 8-7 to Springfield College at Stagg Field in Springfield, Mass on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Shawn Runyon (Fairport, N.Y.) scored three goals, including the game-winner with 3:13 to go in the fourth quarter to lead the Pride. The loss is the second in as many tries for the 14th-ranked Ducks, who fall to 1-2 overall. Stevens was led by three goals from sophomore midfielder Chris Laurita and two goals and two assists from senior attackman Matt Keating.
The Ducks took an early lead on Laurita's first tally of the game 2:49 in and were able to keep the Pride off the board for the remainder of the first quarter. Stevens took that one-goal advantage into the second before Springfield (2-2) scored four goals over a span of 3:23 to take a 4-1 lead.
Stevens responded with three goals of their own to tie the score at four. Junior captain Bobby Steinhauser, Keating, and Laurita had the Stevens scores in the run. Senior Jake Jones (Amherst, Mass.) scored with 2:03 in the half to give the Pride a 5-4 advantage going into the locker room.
Laurita tied the score for Stevens a little less than five minutes into the third quarter and the two squads traded goals the rest of the way. Keating knotted the game at seven-all with 5:16 remaining, but Runyon's third goal with 3:13 to go was the back-breaker for the Ducks. He scooped up a ground ball at the top of the restraining box, dodged to his right, and ripped a shot into the lower left corner of the net for a sensational game-winning goal.
The Ducks had a final chance to tie the game after forcing a Springfield turnover with 13 seconds left on the clock. After a long clear, sophomore Joey Simone flicked a loose ball off the ground from five yards out but could not find net. The Ducks got the ball back with three seconds to go but were unable to muster another shot as the Pride held on for the one-goal victory.
The two teams played the entire game neck-and-neck and the numbers reflected it. Both teams took 31 shots, and the Ducks had a slight edge in ground balls at 37-34. Stevens had three more turnovers than Springfield (21-18), and the Pride won 10 of the 19 face-offs.
Sophomore Dave Decker made 13 saves in goal but took the loss. Keating and Laurita led the Ducks in ground balls with six and five, respectively. Sophomores Jake Messimer and Tom Iadanza each picked up four ground balls, and Iadanza caused a game-high five Pride turnovers.
Senior attackman J.R. Oreskovich had a goal and an assist to round out the Stevens scoring.
Stevens will return to action on Monday night at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken versus Kean University. Face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
