HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 26, 2020)  – Junior Ryan Gebardt netted five of his game-high six goals in the first half to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team over Haverford College 11-8 Wednesday evening in a non-conference contest played at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Junior Nico Ipeker had a goal and an assist and senior Brenan Monteleone also found the back of the net for the Ducks, who topped the Fords for the fifth straight meeting to move to 2-1 on the year. Stevens now leads the all-time series 3-2.

Wyatt Feinberg and Sean Mowatt-Larssen each had two goals for Haverford, who fell to 0-4 on the year.

"We are happy to get the win," said head coach Gene Peluso. "Haverford fought for the whole game."

"We got a strong game from Gebhardt with six goals and from Park at the 'X', going 5 for 7," Peluso continued. "Trevor Carroll and Sean Kunz also had big goals for us when we needed them. We now get prepared for an always strong Springfield team."

Sophomore Michael Burns collected his third goal of the season and junior Sean Kunz and freshman Trevor Carroll also scored as Stevens scored seven of the first nine goals of the game to take a 7-2 lead midway through the second quarter. Carroll's third-quarter marker was the first of his collegiate career.

Additionally, freshmen Joe Cawley joined Carroll in making his collegiate debut. Sophomore Lawrence Park made his debut for Stevens after transferring from Washington (Md.) College, while senior Max Ranaldi, sophomore Matt Logan, junior Kyle Vlasich and Kunz each made their season debuts. Sophomore Craig Stockfeder also made his first career start.

Freshman Connor Green made his first collegiate start and made two saves to earn the victory. Senior Jack Braswell relieved in the second half and made four saves. Kyle Buseck made 15 saves in a losing effort for Haverford.

Senior Connor Murphy won the opening faceoff and the Ducks quickly converted their first possession, with Gebhardt opening scoring just 39 seconds into the game. Monteleone pushed Stevens lead to two, before Haverford got on the board on Mowatt-Larssen's seventh tally of the year. The tally speaked a brief run by the Ducks, with Burns and Gebhardt scoring 15 seconds apart to give the Ducks a 4-1 lead after one quarter. 

Feinberg opened second-quarter scoring, before Kunz netted his first goal of the year to reclaim a three-goal lead. Gebhardt completed his second hat trick of the year with consecutive goals eight seconds apart as Stevens swelled its lead to five. Feinberg and Mowatt-Larssen scored consecutive goals to bring the Fords within three, but Gebhardt netted his fifth marker of the half to send the teams into the intermission with a tidy 8-4 lead.

Haverford's Ben Fujinaga had the first goal of the second half, but Gebhardt, Ipeker and Carroll scored over a six-minute stretch to seize control of the game. Haverford scored the final three goals of the game to provide the final margin.

Stevens outshot Haverford 53-20 on the evening, including a 26-14 edge in shots on goal. Gebhardt fired off 13 shots to lead all players, while Monteleone had 11. Mowatt-Larssen topped the Fords with seven.

Defensively, five different players caused two turnovers to help Stevens earn 13 caused turnovers on 26 Haverford miscues. Stockfeder, joined Cawley, juniors Sean Scadden and Jason Coyle and graduate student Daniel Crotty in causing two turnovers each, while Burns, senior Alec Caseiro and junior Roman Bellisari each caused one. Gray Pollock and Brendan Narko caused three each to lead Haverford.

Caseiro totaled six ground balls as 18 different players picked up one ground ball each to help Stevens gain a 39-25 edge in ground balls. Pollock paced the Fords with six.

Three different student-athletes helped the Ducks gain a 12-9 edge in the faceoff circle. Murphy won six of the Ducks' 21 wins in the 'X', while Park went 5-2. Caseiro won his only faceoff for his first victory in the 'X" since March 31, 2018. Nate Ruhl won eight times in the 'X' and Gabe Durso had the Fords' other victory on the evening.

Stevens was unable to convert its three power-play opportunities, while Haverford was only able to score one goal on the man-advantage in 10 power-play attempts.

Stevens was successful on 16 of its 17 clearing attempts (94.1%), while Haverford converted 22 of its 27 clears.

The Ducks held Haverford to a single goal in both the first and fourth quarters and have held opponents to one goal or less in five of their 12 quarters this season.

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse welcomes Springfield College to the DeBaun Athletic Complex on Feb. 29. The Ducks are 10-5 all-time against the Pride, including victories in three straight.

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