HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 20, 2019)  – Seniors Dean Peluso and Max Bailey each totaled four goals as No. 11/No. 10 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse held off St. John Fisher College 11-9 Saturday afternoon in an Empire 8 Conference matchup at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Bailey totaled a goal and three assists and Peluso moved to within one point of 100 for his career with a four-goal performance as the Ducks won their 11th straight game to improve to 14-2 on the year and 7-0 in league play. Stevens has been victorious in 17 consecutive league games, including the postseason and have won six straight against St. John Fisher and now lead the all-time series 9-4. The 11-game winning streak marks the longest for the program since the Ducks reeled off 12 straight victories at the start of the 2011 season. Stevens remains atop the Empire 8 Conference standings and a victory over Hartwick next weekend guarantees that the E8's road to the NCAA Tournament will go through Hoboken for the third straight season.

Prior to the game, the men's lacrosse program honored seniors Ryan Kelly, Eric Radbourne, Drew Cottrell, Nicholas Carnovale, Carson White, Bailey and Peluso for their contributions to the program in a pre-game ceremony.

"It was a great win today," said head coach Gene Peluso. "I am proud of our guys and our seniors for getting a win on Senior Day. This class of seniors has been instrumental to our program's success and they are excellent student-athletes. On top of that, they are incredible individuals who come from incredible families. The day was special because we honored this class."

Tommy Farry and Jack Mulvihill each had a pair of goals for the Cardinals, who saw their six-game winning streak come to an end. St. John Fisher fell to 12-2 overall and to 5-1 in league play. The Ducks held Fisher's Nicholas Miller, the nation's fourth-leading scorer, to just a pair of goals, which is over four points less than his per game average entering the contest.

The victory was the 132nd in Peluso's distinguished career on Castle Point, moving the 10th-year head coach ahead of Stevens Hall of Famer John Sim into sole possession of first place on the career coaching wins list. Additionally, the victory increased Peluso's career winning percentage at Stevens to 0.733, which is tops among the longest running lacrosse program in the country's list of head coaches. [Note: With records that date back to 1885, there are 18 known head coaches in program history - specific information about the head coaches from 1885-1894 and 1896-1903 is unknown.]

"The history of Stevens Lacrosse is rich and something I am so happy to be a part of," Peluso reflected. "I have studied the history since my arrival [on Castle Point] and to pass Coach Sim is special to me and my family"

"Having said that, this milestone doesn't happen without the support of the administration, my assistant coaches, and of course, all the great players we have had in my 10 years [as head coach]," Peluso continued. "The wins and the winning percentage is all about the players; players win games."

White drew the start in the cage and made 13 saves to secure the victory. Fisher's Darin Eakins matched White's 13 saves in defeat.

Radbourne joined junior Brendan Monteleone and sophomore Ryan Gebhardt in collecting a pair of goals for the Ducks, who scored 11 goals in a winning performance. Junior Connor Murphy joined Radbourne in doling out an assist to round out Stevens' scoring.

"We loved the game we received from Peluso, Bailey, Radbourne and Monteleone on offense and Hinphy, Coyle and White on the defensive end," Peluso offered.

Ian Evans quieted the Senior Day crowd, beating While 2:22 into the opening period for his 39th goal of the year. Farry added a goal a little more than a minute later to push Stevens' deficit to two. It matched the Ducks' largest deficit at home this season.

Peluso finally put Stevens on the board with his first of the afternoon, Miller answered for the Cardinals and the guests were poised to finish out the opening quarter with the lead, before Stevens stunned the Cardinals with three goals in the final minute to take control of the game. 

After Miller's tally Joe Post won the ensuing faceoff, but White ended Fisher's possession with his third save of the quarter.

After a successful clear, Radbourne jump started the offense with his 29th of the season. Radbourne's two goals pushed the Guelph, Ontario, Canada native within two of 100 for his career. Post won the next faceoff, but Mitch Rein promptly threw the ball away to return possession to the Ducks. Stevens quickly worked the ball down the field and Gebhardt evened the score with his 49th of the year. 

Murphy followed with Stevens' second faceoff victory the day and raced down the field before handing the ball off to Monteleone, who whipped a ball past Eakins to beat the first-quarter horn. The goal was one of three spectacular markers on the day. Bailey's lone goal of the day was a fadeaway shot that beat the shot clock in the top left corner of the goal and Peluso scored on a behind-the-back shot in the third stanza.

Miller netted his second of the day to open scoring in the second quarter, but the Ducks answered with goals from Gebhardt and Peluso to take a 6-4 edge into the intermission. Mulvihill and Farry connected for back-to-back goals in less than a minute to again draw the teams even early in the third quarter. 

Monteleone scored his second of the game to spark a four-goal run that opened the largest margin of the day. Chance Gates' 21st of the year began a Fisher run that bridged the final two quarters to pull the guests within one. Bailey beat Eakins with the shot clock expiring to return a two-goal margin to the Ducks and provide the game's final score.

St. John Fisher had multiple attempts in the final 2:18 to draw closer, but Peluso stripped Conner Buzby to end one Cardinal offensive series and the Cardinals committed a pair of penalties in the final minute to keep possession with the Ducks. Peluso stripped Austin Jobson on the final possession of the game to secure the victory.

A spirited affair, that featured both uptempo play and ball control and possession, the teams combined for 85 shots, with St. John Fisher holding a 46-39 advantage. Mulvihill joined Gebhardt in firing 11 shots to lead all players, while Radbourne and Miller each took eight attempts. Despite St. John Fisher holding a seven-shot advantage in the game, the Ducks held the edge in shots on net, firing 24 against 22 for the Cardinals.

Defensively, Stevens forced St. John Fisher into 23 turnovers, with over half of the miscues coming on in the second half. Sophomore Jason Coyle posted a game-high four caused turnovers, marking the third game the Caldwell, New Jersey native has achieved four caused turnovers. Four different players each caused one miscue to lead the Cardinals.

Post turned in a strong performance in the 'X', winning 17 out of a possible 23 faceoffs. Murphy picked up four wins for the Ducks, while Carnovale earned the other two. The edge in faceoffs helped the Cardinals to a 33-32 edge in ground balls. Post picked up a game-high 11 ground balls, while White topped Stevens with five. The senior netminder also forced a pair of turnovers.

Stevens was successful on 25 of its 27 clearing attempts, and continue to rank among the nation's leaders in clearing percentage. St. John Fisher was successful on 17 of its 21 attempts. Of note, the teams were a combined 18-for-18 on clears in the second quarter.

Radbourne and Peluso each committed a 1:00-penalty, which Fisher converted into one man-advantage goal on Gates' power=play goal. Stevens was unable to turn a pair of Cardinal penalties into a goal. Jobson was whistled for an illegal body check as the final play of the game.

Up Next: No. 11/No. 10 Men's Lacrosse closes the 2019 regular season with a matchup at Hartwick on April 27. Since joining the Empire 8, Stevens is a perfect 13-0 all-time against Hartwick.

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