HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 9, 2019)  – Senior Max Bailey totaled six points to set a program record for career points, sophomore Ryan Gebhardt matched a career high with six goals, but No. 4 Tufts University scored five times in the fourth quarter to stun the ninth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team 19-17 Saturday in an entertaining non-conference matchup between top-10 programs at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Bailey scored three times and added three assists to record his 250th career point to pass Hall of Famer J.R. Maehler, who totaled 249 during his time on Castle Point. Already in possession of the program's all-time record for assists, Bailey fed senior Dean Peluso for the Seaford, New York native's third-quarter marker to reach the career milestone.

"Max has been a true leader and gamer for our program," said head coach Gene Peluso. "To break the all-time scoring record and to pass some of the greatest players at Stevens Institute of Technology is something he, and we, are very proud of."

"To score three goals and three assists against a great team is something Maz has made a career," Peluso added. "I love Max and I love coaching him. We are very proud of him."

"Max is a special player," added assistant coach Kevin Stockel. "[He has] outstanding vision and game awareness. It really makes my job as offensive coordinator that much easier having a quarterback like him on the field. Proud of what he's done here with all his accomplishments."

Gebhardt added an assist to total a team-leading seven points. Peluso and junior Brenan Monteleone each netted a hat trick as Stevens had four players finish with three or more goals. Senior Eric Radbourne had a goal and an assistt, while sophomore Ryan Caplis added his sixth goal of the season. Freshman Brendan Sullivan joined Peluso in handing out an assist to round out Stevens' scoring. 

Matt Treiber scored seven goals with two assists and Danny Murphy handed out six assists for Tufts, who improved to 4-0. The Ducks fell to 3-2.

"Tough game, [especially the fourth quarter], for us," Peluso reflected. "We competed and I am proud of our guys for that. We just have to find a way to finish that type of game out."

Senior Carson White matched a career high with 16 stops in the cage for the Ducks. Tufts' Mason Pollack totaled 17 saves on the afternoon, including eight in the final period.

The offensive fireworks began shortly after senior Nicholas Carnovale won the opening faceoff. Radbourne took the game's first shot attempt 43 seconds into the game, and although the shot was high, the Ducks maintained possession. Off the restart, Monteleone charged hard from Pollock's right side and beat the Tufts keeper for his 10th goal of the season. The quick-scoring play would serve as the storyline of the first half.

After taking their first possession of the game on the ensuing faceoff, Nick Shanks took the Jumbos' first shot of the game, with Ben Connelly picking up the ground ball. Waldbaum quickly converted a Garrett Samuelson pass in the high slot to tie the score at one. The Jumbos scored on each of their next two shots to build a 3-1 lead.

Stevens regained possession on a faceoff violation and Bailey took advantage, beating Pollack to draw Stevens within one. The teams combined for five goals in the game's 3:09. 

Stevens knotted the score at three when Gebhardt converted a Bailey pass for his 15th of the season. The Baldwinsville, New York native has scored at least two goals in every game this season and has had at least one point in 25 of his 26 career games on Castle Point. 

Tufts scored back-to-back goals in 37 seconds to again jump in front. Treiber started the stretch, beating White after Connelly picked up a ground ball to avoid a Tufts turnover. Nick Katz was the recipient of a Murphy pass after the Tufts attackman picked up his own ground ball after White made the initial save. Bailey has the answer for the Ducks, pushing a Sullivan pass past Pollack for his second of the game. Connelly scored just 37 seconds later as the teams combined for four goals in a little over two minutes. 

Again facing a two-goal deficit, the Ducks responded with three goals in 1:49 to take a 7-6 lead into the second quarter. Bailey completed his first-quarter hat trick to begin the sequence, with goals from Monteleone and Peluso giving the Ducks their second lead of the game.

The second period featured more offense as the teams combined for five goals in the first five minutes of the period. Kyle Helfrich committed a faceoff violation and was called for a 30-second penalty and Gebhardt capitalized, recording his fifth 'Up' goal of the season. The sophomore finished second on the team with eight one season ago. Tufts answered when Samuelson scored off a restart after White sticked aside Shanks' scoring attempt. The Ducks responded with three straight goals as Gebhardt, Peluso and Radbourne each beat Pollack to give Stevens an 11-7 lead. Treiber scored twice to draw Tufts back to within two, but the gritty Ducks scored two of the next three goals to take a 13-10 lead at the intermission. 

Neither side was able to convert an opportunity in the early portion of the third period. Samuelson finally broke through four minutes into the third stanza , but Monteleone answered 90 seconds later to reclaim Stevens' three-goal cushion.

Tufts went on its second three-goal run of the game to tie the score at 14, but the Ducks again responded with three goals in three minutes to take a 17-14 lead into the final quarter. Peluso completed his hat trick to open the sequence, while Gebhardt scored twice in the final 90 seconds to close out the frame. The Ducks were able to create offense in the final seconds of both the first and third quarters, with Peluso finding the back of the net with eight seconds left in the first and Gebhardt beating Pollack with five seconds remaining in the third.

The fourth quarter saw the guests score five unanswered goals to steal the victory. Treiber scored a pair of goals in the sequence, including the game-tying marker with just under eight minutes left in the game. With the teams heading towards overtime, Teriber fed Samuelsson, who slid through the defense to put Tufts back in front. Shanks added an insurance goal in the final minute to provide the final margin. The Ducks had a scoring chance shortly after Shanks' tally, but Pollack stopped Bailey for his eighth save of the frame to preserve the victory.

An back-and-forth battle from the start, Stevens outshot Tufts, 55-49 on the day, with each team firing 34 shots on goal. Gebhardt fired 15 shots to lead all players, while Treiber and Connelly combined for 21 shots to lead Tufts. Radbourne added 12 attempts for the Ducks, who saw eight players fire at least one shot.

Defensively, Helfrich matched Monteleone and freshman Aidan Hinphy with two caused turnovers. For the game, Stevens forced the Jumbos into 18 turnovers, while committing a season-low 12. Tufts won the ground ball battle, 48-37, although several of those were picked up in the midfield. Helfrich led all players with 12 ground balls, while sophomore Shawn Coulter picked up a career-high 10 to lead the Ducks. All totaled 12 different players scooped up at least one ground ball.

The teams were evenly-matched in the facecoff 'X', with Tufts winning 20 and Stevens winning 19. Carnovale picked up a season-high 16 victories in the 'X' to lead Stevens' efforts, while junior Connor Murphy earned three wins. Helfrich went 18-13 on faceoffs to lead Tufts, while Henry Hollen went 2-5.

Stevens went 17-for-20 on clears, while holding the Jumbos to 20-of-27. Stevens went 1-for-3 on extra-man opportunities with Gebhardt netting Stevens' only 'Up' goal of the game for the second straight contest. The Ducks successfully killed off four of their five penalties. For the season, Stevens has scored on 11 of their 23 power plays, while opponents have capitalized just twice on 13 Duck penalties.

Up Next: No. 9 Men's Lacrosse begins a stretch of three straight games away from campus on Mar. 13 against Widener University in Chester, Pa.

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