HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 21, 2018)  – Junior attackman Max Bailey totaled three goals and five assists as No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Lacrosse scored the first 10 goals of the game en route to a 17-8 victory over Alfred University Saturday in an Empire 8 Conference game at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Freshman Ryan Gebhardt, junior Eric Radbourne and freshman Ryan Caplis also collected hat tricks as Stevens won its fourth consecutive game to improve to 13-2 on the year and a perfect 6-0 in Empire 8 Conference play. The nine-goal victory gave Stevens the Empire 8's regular season title and hosting rights for the postseason tournament. The Ducks improved to 11-3 all-time against the Saxons.

Jake Lynch scored three times and Joe Fornataro added two goals and an assist for the Saxons, who fell to 8-6 on the year. The loss snapped Alfred's two-game winning streak. The Saxons are tied with Hartwick College and St. John Fisher College at 4-2 in conference play. The top four seeds make the conference tournament. Alfred has never made the E8 tournament.

Prior to the game, Men's Lacrosse honored and recognized the seven-member Class of 2018: Christian Werlau, Scott Wedgeworth, Tommy Dawson, Bryan Rogers, Rob Williams, John Boutureira, Dallas Creamer in a pre-game ceremony.

"Senior Day is always emotional," said head coach Gene Peluso. "This group has done so much for our program, on and off the field. Their leadership, skill, and their presence in the Stevens community is what makes them a special group. Their families have all been major supporters of theirs sons, and our program, over the last four years and I am so happy that we were able to get a great win for these guys and their families."

"It's a special day for the seniors because it's a day that that reflects all the hard work and countless hours of practice they have put in over their four years," Bailey added. "It's a great day to celebrate [the seniors'] successful lacrosse careers."

Sophomore Brendan Monteleone recorded two goals and an assist, Boutureira added a pair of goals and Rogers found the back of the net for Stevens, who fired 51 shots on the afternoon, including 25 in the first two quarters as the Ducks built an impressive lead. Over half (27) of Stevens' shot attempts were on net, and kept Drew Gardner on his toes throughout the first three quarters. Gardner made seven saves to suffer the loss. Junior Carson White made four saves to earn his 13th win of the year.

Junior Nicholas Carnovale led a strong team effort in the faceoff circle for Stevens, who held Alfred's Garrette Briggs, who recently matched an Empire 8 record for faceoff wins in a game, to a 6-11 mark in the 'X'. Briggs came into the game fourth in the country, winning 72.2 percent of his faceoffs. As a team, the Ducks compiled 16 faceoff wins on the afternoon, with Carnovale leading all players with 10. Wedgeworth totaled three wins in the 'X' and sophomore Connor Murphy posted the other three victories.

Stevens held a 39-24 edge in ground balls and registered 16 caused turnovers. Carnovale and Creamer led the team with five ground balls each and Rogers collected six caused turnovers. David LaSpina scooped up six ground balls to lead all players. The Ducks 18-for-20 on clear attempts, while holding Alfred to 12 of 17. Stevens scored on four of its extra-man opportunities, with four different players registering 'Up' goals. The Ducks held Alfred off the board in each of the visitors' two man-advantage opportunities.

In a contest with first place in the E8 on the line, Stevens jumped on Alfred early and often in the opening 15 minutes. Gebhardt tallied the first goal of the game with an 'Up' goal after a Lynch slashing penalty. Bailey extended the lead to two with his 19th of the year. Radbourne and Caplis scored exactly two minutes apart and Radbourne and Gebhardt found the back of the net in a 17-second span as Stevens took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Bailey had an assist on Gebhardt's second goal of the frame and the Millersville, Maryland native connected with four different players on the day. Bailey has handed out five or more assists on four different occasions this season and ranks among the nation's leaders in assists (57).

"I am always looking to find the open on the field," Bailey commented. "As an 'X' attackman, I have the ability to to survey the entire field and see gaps in the defenses and seams to expose. Overall, I am willing to do whatever it takes on the field to generate team success and I wanted to do well for our seniors today."

Stevens continued to pour on the offense with four straight goals to open the second period. Fornataro registered his 29th of the season with just over a minute remaining in the first half to spoil the shutout attempt. 

Monteleone opened third-quarter scoring with an 'Up' goal to reclaim a 10-goal lead. The teams alternated goals over a seven-minute stretch before Caplis completed his first career hat trick to give Stevens a 14-3 lead heading into the final quarter. The Mooresville, North Carolina native came into the game with seven goals on the year.

Alfred scored three straight goals to open the final period to tighten the score, but Bailey scored twice in a 1:47 span to make the score 16-7. Rogers and Lynch exchanged goals down the stretch to provide the game's final margin. Alfred came into the game allowing 7.08 goals per game, which ranked second in the conference.

Up Next: No. 14 Men's Lacrosse hits the road for its final two games of the 2018 regular season. Up first is a non-conference tilt against in-state foe Montclair State University on April 25. The game gets underway at 7 p.m.

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