ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 29, 2017)  – Junior Tommy Dawson scored two goals, but the 18th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team was unable to overcome a four-goal deficit and fell at Nazareth College in an Empire 8 Conference matchup Saturday.

Sophomore Max Bailey tallied a goal and four assists for the Ducks, who fell to 13-4 on the year and 7-1 in conference play. The loss snapped Stevens' eight-game winning streak.

Hunter Burdick recorded three goals and five assists for Nazareth, who improved to 9-8 on the year and 6-2 in conference play.

"They were the better team today," head coach Gene Peluso said. "We were out ground balled 13-2 in the first half and that pretty much says it all. We didn't play with a lot of hustle and the pace we needed to and Nazareth took advantage."

Both teams will advance to the Empire 8 Championships with the Ducks earning the number one seed and Nazareth securing the third seed. Stevens will host Hartwick Wednesday afternoon while the Golden Flyers will travel to Ithaca for a semifinal matchup with the Bombers.

Senior Tim Leahey also recorded two goals for the Ducks and junior John Boutureira had a goal and an assist. Senior Connor McKeon added a goal to round out the scoring.

Defensively, five different players caused a turnover for Stevens, but Nazareth's Luke Longo led all players with three. Freshman Alec Caseiro picked up four ground balls for the Ducks, but Seth DeLisle picked up a game-high 12, helping Nazareth to a 32-14 edge.

Stevens was outshot for the second consecutive game as the Golden Flyers held a 45-27 edge, including a 29-10 advantage over the first two quarters. The Ducks held a 17-16 edge in the second half. Stevens was an efficient 15-for-18 on clear attempts, while the Golden Flyers were nearly perfect, going 16-of-17. The Ducks converted their only man-up advantage, while Nazareth was 1-for-6.

Carson White made nine saves in the loss. Alex Winkler stopped 10 Stevens shots to earn the victory.

Nick Arnold opened the game's scoring, beating White 2:25 into the game. Max Bailey evened the score off a John Boutureira feed. It would be the only time Stevens and Nazareth would be tied during the course of the game.

Nazareth scored four times over a 10:30 stretch spanning the final minutes of the first quarter through the midway point of the second. Chris Murphy began the stretch with his seventh of the year and was followed by Hunter Burdick's first of the game right before the end of the opening stanza. 

The second quarter began with an up goal from Paul Walter and Kevin Hussey's tally pushed the lead to 5-1. Tim Leahey's man-up goal stopped the Nazareth run and Tommy Dawson's goal trimmed the deficit to 5-3 at the intermission.

The team's alternated the first four goals of the second half, before Burdick's second of the game reclaimed a three-goal lead for Nazareth after three quarters.

Arnold scored his second of the game to open fourth-quarter scoring, but Leahey and McKeon scored back-to-back goals to pull the Ducks to within two (9-7) with 6:39 to play. Burdick would put a halt to the Stevens comeback attempt, completing the hat trick. Walter scored his second of the game to provide the game's final margin.

Up next: Stevens begins the Empire 8 Conference tournament with a semifinal matchup with Hartwick, Wednesday, May 3 at 4:00 p.m.

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