MONTCLAIR, N.J. (April 25, 2018)  – Eight unanswered goals turned a 4-3 deficit into an 11-4 lead as No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Lacrosse downed in-state opponent Montclair State University 16-5 on Wednesday evening in a non-conference game at Sprague Field. The contest marked Stevens' final non-Empire 8 game of the regular season. 

Junior Eric Radbourne led all players with four goals for his third hat trick in his last four games. Freshman Ryan Gebhardt added three goals for the Ducks, who won their fifth straight game to improve to 14-2. Stevens finished non-conference play at 8-2, marking the best out-of-league record for the program since the Ducks went 11-2 outside of the E8 in 2012.

Mike Waslik and Dan Bellezza each netted two goals for Montclair State, who fell to 7-6. The Red Hawks, playing as an independent, have two games remaining on their 2018 schedule as the program seeks an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Senior Bryan Rogers and freshman Will Reed each added a pair of goals and junior Nicholas Carnovale, sophomore Brendan Monteleone and freshmen Shawn Coulter and Tim Spears each scored once for the Ducks, who produced double-digit goals for the 12th straight game. Freshman Ryan Caplis had a goal an assist and junior Max Bailey, sophomore Bubba Brennan and senior John Boutureira each had an assist to round out the Stevens scoring.

Carnovale was excellent in the 'X' for the Ducks, winning a season-high 15 faceoffs. As a team, Stevens earned 17 victories in the 'X" on the evening, while holding Montclair to just eight. Junior Carson White made 11 saves to earn the victory. Jack Cardew made 15 saves for Montclair.

Stevens outshot MSU 48-29 on the evening, including a 31-16 advantage in shots on goal. The Ducks picked up 38 ground balls and were 1-for-4 on the the man-advantage. Montclair State picked up 27 ground balls and did not have a powerplay opportunity. Carnovale led all players with eight ground balls and senior Dallas Creamer and junior John Crotty each caused two MSU turnovers. The Ducks went 17-for-20 on clear attempts, while Montclair was successful on 20 of its 22 clear attempts. 

Playing in a dense fog, it was the hosting Red Hawks that seized an early advantage, scoring three of the first four goals of the game to take an early 3-1 lead. Rogers' first goal of the game briefly drew the Ducks within one, but Bellezza picked up a ground ball of a Crotty turnover and beat White for his 22nd goal of the year to again put MSU up two. However, the lead would be short lived as the Stevens defense kept Montclair State off the board for the next 25:20, allowing the Ducks' high-powered offense to seize control of the game.

Senior Scott Wedgeworth won the ensuing faceoff and Stevens worked its offense, leading to Caplis setting up Radbourne for his 24th of the year to begin the comeback. Gebhardt made it two straight goals for Stevens, knotting the game at four, with eight seconds remaining in the opening stanza.

Radbourne opened second quarter scoring with his 25th goal to give Stevens its first lead of the game. The Guelph, Ontario, Canada native has scored in six straight games. Reed beat Cardew to push the lead to two midway through the period. Coulter, Gebhardt and Radbourne found the back of the net in 1:09 span as Stevens took a 9-4 lead at halftime. Radbourne's tally came with just four seconds left in the period as the Ducks scored in the final 10 seconds of each of the first three periods. The junior midfielder scored his fourth of the night to open second-half scoring to make it eight unanswered for Stevens before Waslik lit the lamp to end the Stevens run. 

The Ducks scored the final five goals of the game to provide the final margin of victory. The 11-goal victory was Stevens' third straight over Montclair State. The Ducks hold a 22-18 advantage in the all-time series.

Up Next: No. 14 Men's Lacrosse closes out the 2018 regular season with an Empire 8 Conference matchup at Houghton College on April 28. The Ducks clinched the E8's regular season title with its 17-8 victory over Alfred on April 21.

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