HOUGHTON, N.Y. (April 28, 2018)  – Freshman Niko Ipeker and sophomore Nick Marra each scored four goals as No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Lacrosse defeated Houghton College 23-0 Saturday in an Empire 8 Conference matchup at Burke Field.

Freshmen Will Reed and Tim Spears joined Ipeker and Marra in totaling five points on the afternoon as 11 different players tallied a point for Stevens. The victory was the sixth in a row for the Ducks, as Stevens finishes the regular season 15-2 overall and 7-0 in conference play. Both of Stevens' lacrosse programs went unblemished in league play for the first time since the 2005 season. 

"It was a great day to play our young players today," said head coach Gene Peluso. "I was impressed with how they made the most of their opportunity. I was equally impressed with our upperclassmen on the sidelines and how they cheered on their teammates."

Sophomore Max Ranaldi recorded the first hat trick of his career and freshman Ryan Gebhardt and Sean Kunz and sophomore Jake Southren each collected two goals for Stevens as the Ducks crossed the 20-goal mark for the third time this season, Freshmen Trey Kiessling and Adam Corby collected their first collegiate goals and fellow first-year student Ryan Caplis added an assist to complete the Stevens scoring 

Jeremy Harris made 12 for the Highlanders, who fell to 1-14 on the year and 0-7 in the Empire 8.

Sophomore Jack Braswell started and made three saves to earn his first win of the year. Freshmen Danny Tierney, Cooper Waymire and Trent Nuzem combined for four saves as the Ducks posted their first shutout of the year.

"It was great to see a couple of guys get their first career goals and their first career starts," Peluso added. "We were able to play four goalies with each of them making some nice saves."

Stevens outshot the Highlanders 49-16 on the day, including a 35-7 margin in shots on goal. The Ducks were a perfect 10-for-10 on clear attempts, while Houghton went 8-for-10.  Behind Kiessling's career day in the 'X', the Ducks won 24 of 27 faceoffs on the afternoon. The Annapolis, Maryland native went a perfect 13-for-13, while sophomore Connor Murphy was also perfect on the day, winning seven times in the circle. Murphy also led all players with 12 ground balls, helping Stevens to a 51-22 edge in the statistic.

Stevens jumped on the Highlanders from the opening faceoff. Junior Nicholas Carnovale earned the win in the 'X' and picked up the ground ball to give Stevens the first possession. After working the offense, Reed found the back of the net for his fifth tally of the year. Houghton ran its offense for the first after a violation on the ensuing faceoff with Braswell making consecutive saves to keep Stevens ahead.

After a successful clear, Gebhardt, the conference leader in goals, beat Harris to give Stevens a 2-0 lead after two offensive possessions. Gebhardt has scored a goal in 15 of 17 contests this season and ranks among the top 75 players in Division III with 2.71 goals per game.

Kunz, Marra and Ipeker scored in a four-minute span to open a five-goal lead. Gebhardt beat Harris for his second of the afternoon to give Stevens a 6-0 lead after one period. The Ducks would go on to score fifth in the second, eight in the third and four in the fourth to provide the final margin of victory. 

Up Next: No. 14 Men's Lacrosse takes on fourth-seeded Hartwick in the opening round of the Empire 8 Championship. Wednesday afternoon at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. The game will be a rematch of last season's semifinal, which was won by the Ducks. The teams met just two weeks ago, with Stevens coming away with an 11-5 victory. 

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