HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 23, 2019)  – Freshman Joe Ballai scored a career-high four goals as 17 different players recorded at least one point as No. 12/No. 13 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse defeated Utica College 23-4 Saturday afternoon in an Empire 8 Conference matchup at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Freshman Brendan Sullivan added three goals and two assists and junior Brendan Monteleone and sophomore Nico Ipeker also posted a hat trick as the Ducks won their fourth straight victory. Stevens improved to 7-2 on the year and won its conference opener for the fourth straight season.

John Hanlon had a goal and two assists and John Avery scored twice for the Pioneers, who fell to 4-4 and 0-1 in the Empire 8. The loss snapped Utica's two-game winning streak. Stevens has won the last 12 meetings between the teams, dating back to the 2008 season.

"Great job by our players today, especially the players that got some of their first opportunities" said head coach Gene Peluso. "Love that we played all of our healthy guys and that we had the first career goal from four of our players."

Freshmen Tyler Ryan, Michael Burns and Jimmy Tovey joined Ballai in recording their first collegiate goal. Ryan finished with two goals and an assist, while Burns totaled a goal and two assists. Seniors Max Bailey and Dean Peluso each added a goal and an assist as the Ducks reached a season-high in goals. Sophomore Ryan Gebhardt and senior Eric Radbourne each scored twice, while juniors Max Ranaldi and Connor Murphy and sophomores Shawn Coulter and Tim Spears, along with freshmen Hunter Brogan and Tom Conway each added an assist for the Ducks, who lead the Empire 8 with 145 goals. Ballai, Monteleone and Ipeker each also dished out an assist to round out Stevens' scoring. Conway's third-quarter helper was his first collegiate point.

Senior Carson White made two saves over 19 minutes to earn his seventh victory of the season. The Downingtown, Pennsylvania native moved to within seven of Chet Vincentz's all-time program record for career saves. All five netminders saw action for the Ducks, with junior Jack Braswell, sophomore Danny Tierney and freshmen Gio Garcia and Grant Petracca combining for three saves. Ryan Boshart started for Utica and made seven saves in defeat. Harrison Bower and Dylan Allen also saw time in the cage for the Pioneers, combining for seven saves.

After senior Nicholas Carnovale won the opening faceoff, Bailey beat Boshart 62 seconds into the game to open scoring. The Ducks would score four times on their first eight shots of the game to take a 4-0 lead and force a Utica timeout.

Once play resumed, Murphy won the ensuing faceoff, leading to Radbourne's first marker of the day to push the advantage to five. The Pioneers finally registered their first shot of the game with 4:26 remaining in the opening period, but the Duck defense deflected the shot away from harm's way. Utica recorded its first shot on goal after the restart, but White was up to the task, snagging Craig DiSanto's attempt.

A Tyler Crouse illegal body check led to three straight power-play goals on three straight possessions as the Ducks opened an 8-0 lead after the opening stanza. Stevens would go on to score the first five tallies of the second quarter to open a commanding 13-0 lead before Avery spoiled the Ducks' shutout bid. Sullivan and Ipeker each beat Boshart to in the final two minutes to give Stevens a 15-1 lead at the intermission.

After totaling 15 goals on 32 shots (23 on net) in the first half, the Ducks wasted little time getting on the board in the second half, with Ryan finding the back of the net for his first career goal just 50 seconds into the third quarter. Ballai joined his classmate in picking up his first collegiate points in the period, scoring twice in a 90-second span as the Ducks took a 20-3 lead into the final period.

Ballai completed his hat trick to open scoring in the final period and then alternated goals with Hanlon to complete his best offensive performance of the year. Tovey beat Allen with just over three minutes left in the game to provide the final margin.

Stevens outshot Utica 51-24, including a decisive 17-3 margin in the opening quarter. Utica's 24 shots marked a season-low by a Stevens opponent. The Ducks held the Pioneers to just nine shots on goal for the day, while firing 37. Stevens has fired 30 or more shots on goal in six of its nine contests this season. 

Twenty different players fired a shot attempt for the Ducks, with Ballai leading the charge with six. Avery took six attempt to lead the Pioneers.

Defensively, freshman Aidan Hinphy forced two turnovers as the Ducks registered 13 caused turnovers on the day, while forcing 22 Utica miscues for the game. Utica forced 14 Stevens turnovers, with Crouse Kevin Parisi each causing two. For the season, Stevens has pressured its opponents into 179 turnovers, while committing 137.

Stevens turned in a dominant performance in the 'X', winning 22 of 31 faceoffs. Murphy led the charge, going 13-2 on the afternoon, with Carnovale winning twice. Sophomore Trevor Kiessling added four wins in the 'X', while sophomore Jimmy Tovey picked up the other three. Pat Kiernan went 5-6 in the 'X' for Utica.

Murphy's exploits in the 'X' led to the junior midfielder picking up a game-high nine ground balls in helping the Ducks gain a 55-28 advantage in the statistic. The 55 ground balls marked a season high. Freshman Evan Eggleston added a career-high four ground balls, as 25 different players picked up at least one. Crouse led Utica with four.

Stevens was successful on 18 of its 19 clear attempts, while Utica was successful on just 15 of its 20 attempts. The Ducks continue to rank among the top-50 teams in Division III in clearing percentage.

The Ducks scored on five of their seven extra-man opportunities, while Utica was successful on three of their seven power plays. Peluso, Ipeker and Balli each scored an 'Up' goal, while Monteleone added a pair to bring his season total to four. Hanlon accounted for Utica's power-play goal, while Avery scored short-handed.

Up Next: No. 12/No. 13 Men's Lacrosse welcomes Montclair State University to campus on Mar. 26 for Stevens' final non-conference game of the season. The Ducks have topped the Red Hawks in three straight meetings and have won eight of the last nine meetings between the teams. Live stats and video links are available on StevensDucks.com.

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