HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 20, 2021)  – Senior Ryan Gebhardt and first-year Jack Savarese combined for 11 goals as No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse topped Misericordia University 18-10 Saturday in a MAC Freedom matchup at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

The high-scoring duo accounted for four of the six unanswered goals scored by the Ducks over a key six-minute stretch in the third quarter that broke open a one-goal game. The victory was the second straight for the Ducks, who moved to 2-1 on the year and to 2-0 in conference play. 

Patrick Luzzi scored four goals to lead Misericordia, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. The Cougars dropped to 3-1 on the year and to an even 1-1 in the MAC Freedom. It is believed to be the first meeting between the programs. 

"Great win against a very good Misericordia team," said head coach Gene Peluso. "They have always been a tough team over the years and you have to come ready to play then."

"We were slow at times out of the gate, but we had a strong second half," Peluso continued. "We obviously loved the performances we got out of Gebhardt and Savarese at attack."

Gebhardt finished the day with six goals and three assists to finish with a career-high nine points, topping his eight-point performance in the Ducks' 16-8 victory over Springfield University on Feb. 29, 2020. The Baldwinsville, New York native moved into second place in the MAC Freedom in both goals and points per game. The six-goal outing moved Gebhardt into sole possession of second place on the program's career goal-scoring list. Hall of Famer Mark Bielicky holds the career record with 164.

Savarese also had a career day for the Ducks, scoring five goals with an assist to double his career point total. The Wilton, Connecticut native posted his second hat trick in as many games, scoring three times in the third quarter alone, netting the game-winner in the process. 

For the second straight game, eight student-athletes found the back of the net for the Ducks, with three Ducks turning in multi-goal performances. In addition to the career days from Gebhardt and Savarese, senior Sean Kunz netted a pair of goals, turning in a multi-goal performance for the first time since Apr. 17, 2019. 

"We were excited about the big goals from Sean Kunz as well," Peluso commented. "Our eighth goal came at a great time and Sean did exactly what we asked him."

Senior Shawn Coulter also scored for the home team with juniors Michael Burns and Brendan Sullivan, sophomore Trevor Carroll and senior Ryan Caplis accounting for the other goals. Junior Tyler Ryan finished with a pair of assists and Coulter and Sullivan each one to round out the Ducks' scoring.

Senior Danny Tierney played all 60 minutes and made seven saves to earn his second victory of the season. Bryan DeGennaro made 12 saves and allowed 14 goals in defeat for Misericordia. Chris Straub relieved DeGennaro in the third quarter, allowing four goals over 20 minutes.

Sullivan and Wagner exchanged goals in the first quarter to open scoring. Gebhardt provided the Ducks with their second lead of the day with his first marker of the day with Savarese beating DeGennaro to push Stevens' lead to two.

Luzzi scored on the powerplay with Nick Torzilli scoring 48 seconds later to knot the score at three. Gebhardt answered Misericordia's two-goal spurt to provide the Ducks with a slim advantage after the first quarter.

Misericordia took advantage of a Jason Coyle push in the final seconds of the opening period to start the second stanza in their offensive zone. Michael Kilgallon scored 13 seconds in the frame for the Cougars' second powerplay goal of the day. Allen Thomas scored two minutes later to give the visitors their lone lead of the day.

Gebhardt answered, sparking a run of four straight goals, punctuated by Kunz' first tally of the season to send the teams into the intermission with the Ducks holding an 8-5 lead.

Misericordia came out of halftime with renewed energy, scoring twice on a non-releasable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, with Luzzi's second goal of the day drawing the Cougars within one.

The Ducks halted the Misericordia offense with Coulter finding the back of the net to begin the game-changing stretch. Savarese netted a pair of goals 90 seconds apart, followed by goals from Gebhardt and Kunz a minute apart to push the Ducks' lead to 12-7. Kunz netted his second of the game with Savarese following to give the home team a commanding 13-7 lead and forced a Misericordia goalie change.

Luzzi completed his hat trick to briefly halt the charging Duck offense but the Ducks would score four straight goals bridging the third and fourth quarters to build a 10-goal advantage. Luzzi and Torzilli would score at the end of the fourth to provide the final margin of victory.

Stevens took 64 shots on the day, with 34 registering on goal. Stevens had at least 13 attempts in each quarter and through three quarters, the Ducks scored 15 goals on 27 shots on goal. Gebhardt led all student-athletes with 13 shots on goal, while Luzzi and Torzilli each had five to lead Misericordia. 

Defensively, the Ducks registered 14 caused turnovers on 21 Misericordia miscues. Graduate student Daniel Crotty and sophomore Joe Cawley had three caused turnover apiece to lead both teams. Robert Wagner and Michael Shuman caused two turnovers each as the Cougars registered nine caused turnovers on 17 Stevens miscues.

The Ducks were particularly strong on faceoffs and in ground balls. Junior Tom Conway had a career day in the 'X,' going 17-5 in helping Stevens go 20-9 on the day. Graduate student Noah Frantz had a pair of wins in the circle and Coulter added one to account for the Ducks' victories. Conway's performance in the 'X' helped the Floral Park, New York native set a career high with 12 ground balls to lead both sides. As a team, Conway's efforts propelled the Ducks to a 57-27 edge in ground balls, marking the most for the team since the team scooped up 74 versus Elmira College on Apr. 22, 2015. 

"We were thrilled with Tom Conway's performance today," Peluso said. "He was recognized by the coaching staff as our top player today."

Although the Ducks went 0 for 4 on the man-advantage, Gebhardt netted a short-handed goal to round out third-quarter scoring. Misericordia went 4 for 8 on its extra-man opportunities. 

Stevens continues to be effective on clears, finding success on 21 of its 24 attempts. For the season, the Ducks are having success on 87.7 percent of their cleaning attempts. Misericordia was successful on 21 of its 27 clears on the afternoon.

Sophomore David Bendis and senior Adam Corby made their season debuts.

Up Next: No. 20 Men's Lacrosse heads to Madison, New Jersey for a MAC Freedom matchup with FDU-Florham on Mar. 24. It will be the first meeting between the teams since Feb. 18, 2015. The Ducks have won each of the four meetings between the programs in the 2000's.

Please note that all event times, dates and opponents are subject to change and fans remain prohibited from attending Middle Atlantic Conference athletic events.

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