HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 6, 2021)  – Three different players each netted a pair of goals, but No. 18 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse fell to No. 20 Stevenson University 13-8 Saturday in a non-conference matchup at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. 

Offensively, senior Ryan Gebhardt totaled a pair of goals and an assist, while junior Michael Burns and senior Ryan Caplis each matched Gebhardt's two-goal performance for the Ducks, who dropped to 0-1. 

Ryan Coleman led all players with three goals and three assists, while Connor Nelson finished with a hat trick for the Mustangs, who moved to 1-1. Stevenson has won five of the last seven meetings between the programs.

"Hats off to the Stevenson team for a great last three quarters," said head coach Gene Peluso. "We told the guys that playing one good quarter against a good team won't work."

"We really did some things that we need to correct moving forward and that will be the plan starting Monday," Peluso continued. "There were some positives, but clearly not enough to win against a strong Stevenson team."

Junior Tyler Ryan scored his first goal since Apr. 17, 2019 and first-year Mikey Whiteside registered his first collegiate point with a first-quarter goal to round out Stevens' scoring. 

Graduate student Noah Frantz caused a turnover and picked up a pair of ground balls in his Stevens debut, while first-years Jack Savarese, Nolan Quade and Joseph Grippo joined Whiteshite in making their first career appearance in the red and white. 

Making his first career start, senior Danny Tierney made 12 saves for the Ducks in defeat. Sam Ross started for Stevenson and allowed five goals without making a save and was pulled after the opening quarter. Marc Poust came on in relief for the Mustangs at the start of the second quarter and made nine saves to secure the victory. 

"The season moves on," Peluso reflected. "No championships were won or lost today. We just want to keep everyone healthy and start a new week as we prepare for our next opponent."

Playing for the first time in nearly a full calendar year, No. 18 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse got off to a fast start, scoring four times over a nine-minute span in the opening period to take early control. Whiteside's marker opened scoring just under two minutes into the game. The Crownsville, Maryland native's goal was the first points for the Ducks since Caplis provided the Ducks with a 12-7 lead over Montclair State University on Mar. 11, 2020 - a span of 361 days.

Goals from Ryan and Caplis pushed the Ducks' advantage to three before Burns and Stevenson's Jacob Tatum alternated goals less than 90 seconds apart to make the score 4-1. With the clock winding down in the opening period, Stevens took advantage of a Mustang turnover. Graduate student Daniel Crotty picked up the loose ball and began the Ducks' counterattack that resulted in Gebhardt feeding Caplis for his second goal of the day to push the lead to four with two seconds left in the opening stanza. The two-goal outing was the eighth multi-goal performance of Caplis' four seasons in Hoboken.

Stevenson began its comeback in the second period, scoring six straight goals to take a 7-5 lead into the intermission. Coleman scored his final goal of the day 65 seconds into the third quarter before consecutive goals from Gebhardt pulled Stevens back within one. The Baldwinsville, New York native has tallied 138 goals as a Duck.

The Mustangs would go on to score five of the game's final six goals over the last quarter-and-a-half to produce the end result. Burns' unassisted tally midway through the fourth quarter provided the Ducks with their final goal of the day.

The visitors outshot Stevens 45-32, including a 25-17 edge in shots on goal. Nelson led all student-athletes with 10 shots, while Gebhardt topped the Ducks with eight, while Savarese fired off six. 

Defensively, seven different student-athletes registered a caused turnover as the Ducks totaled nine caused turnovers on 19 Stevenson miscues. Burns and Crotty each paced the Ducks with two each. Jacob Magaw had two caused turnovers to lead Stevenson.

The Ducks won the ground ball battle, totaling 34, against just 30 for Stevenson. Junior Larry Park led the Ducks with eight as 14 Ducks picked up at least one. The Ducks ranked second in ground balls in the MAC Freedom one season ago. Magaw, Tatum and Jacob Doster each picked up four to lead the Mustangs.

The Ducks' won 13 of the game's 25 faceoffs. Park won 13 times in the 'X' for the Ducks, setting a new Stevens career-high for the Fairfax, Virginia native. Park won a career-best 21 faceoffs against then-No. 16 Franklin & Marshall College on Apr. 20, 2019, while a member of Washington College. Shiloh Shassian won seven faceoffs to lead Stevenson, while Andrew Torpe earned the Mustangs' other five wins.

Dillon Linhardt had a power-play goal for the Mustangs, who converted one of their two man-advantage opportunities. The Ducks were unable to score on their two extra-man opportunities.

Stevens, who ranked among the national leaders in clearing percentage was successful on 17 of its 21 clearing attempts, while the Mustangs were successful on 16 of their 20 clear attempts. 

Up Next: No. 18 Men's Lacrosse welcomes Alvernia University to campus on Mar. 13. It is believed to be the first meeting between the programs.

Please note that all event times, dates and opponents are subject to change and fans remain prohibited from attending Stevens' home athletic events.

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