ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 19, 2009) – Seniors J.R. Oreskovich and Eric Smith each totaled four points as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team went on the road and earned a big 20-10 win over Empire 8 foe Nazareth College on Sunday afternoon in Rochester, N.Y. Stevens built a 7-2 lead after the first 15 minutes and ended the first half up by 10 goals (13-3) as Nazareth never threatened the rest of the way. With the win, Stevens clinches a spot in the Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Championship and improves to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
With his final point in the contest, Oreskovich moved into sole possession of the top spot in the Stevens men's lacrosse record book in career points. He currently has one more point (228) than previous record-holder Mark Bielicky '07.
Knowing they could clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a win, the Ducks came out on fire. Smith tallied 52 seconds in and one minute later sophomore Jake Messimer put Stevens on top 2-0. Smith and Oreskovich scored back-to-back goals for a 4-0 lead with 7:57 left in the first, and after the first Golden Flyer goal, sophomore midfielder Brandon Faubert and Smith scored 64 seconds apart to make it a 6-1 game.
The first quarter ended with the score at 7-2, and the Ducks did not let up one bit in the second. Stevens tacked on four goals over a 4:19 span to build an 11-2 lead as senior attackman Matt Keating, senior midfielder Alex Heckman, and Oreskovich accounted for tallies.
After a Nazareth goal with 10:04 left in the half, freshman Alex Hofrichter and junior Alex Couture netted scores to give Stevens the 13-3 lead going into the break.
Unlike the loss at Rochester Institute of Technology eight days prior, Stevens came out with great intensity in the second half and continued to extend its lead. The Ducks poured in four of the first five goals in the third quarter to build an insurmountable 17-4 lead with 22:40 left to play.
Nazareth was able to outscore the Ducks 3-1 in the final quarter but the game was already decided. Nazareth (6-6, 3-3 Empire 8) could never get the lead under 10 as Stevens really put together a complete game.
Sophomore Dave Decker got the win in goal for the Ducks, making 15 saves and scooping up a ground ball. Faubert ended with a goal, an assist, six ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Keating found net twice and added an assist, and Oreskovich notched three goals, one assist, and five ground balls. Hofrichter tallied three times and Messimer had a goal and two assists along with four ground balls as sophomores Tom Iadanza and Ted Pfeifer paced the Stevens defense with six and four ground balls, respectively. Smith finished with four goals on eight shots for the Ducks, and Heckman found the back of the net twice.
The Ducks ended with a 52-41 advantage in shots, and Nazareth ended with a 46-40 edge in ground balls. The Golden Flyers won 20-of-32 face-offs, and neither team recorded a man-up goal.
Mark DeCirce (Binghamton, N.Y.) led Nazareth with four goals and an assist as the home crowd of 800 left disappointed.
Stevens will visit Elmira College on April 22 before closing out the regular season at home against No. 4 Ithaca College on April 25. The game with Ithaca will have huge conference playoff implications, and it will serve as the celebration of 125 years of lacrosse at Stevens.
