ANNVILLE, Pa. (May 10, 2021)  – Senior Ryan Gebhardt of the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team was named Offensive Player of the Year Monday, the league office announced Monday as part of its All-MAC Freedom Men's Lacrosse Team announcement.

Graduate student Daniel Crotty was named Defensive Player of the Year and senior Shawn Coulter was named Specialist of the Year as the Ducks claimed three of the conference's four major student-athlete awards. Gene Peluso was named Coach of the Year to round out the Ducks' contingent of award-winners. Arcadia University's Brian Albertsen was tabbed Rookie of the Year to complete the individual honorees. 

Additionally, Gebhardt, Coulter and Crotty landed on the All-MAC Freedom First Team, alongside junior Michael Burns, senior Ryan Caplis, sophomore Joe Cawley, graduate student Bubba Brennan and junior Larry Park. Stevens earned eight of the 14 slots on the conference's first team. First-year Jack Savarese landed on the MAC Freedom's second team, while classmate Jake Zeyher received an honorable mention to round out the all-conference selections.

Gebhardt, who led the Ducks with 65 goals and 27 assists, is the 10th student-athlete in program history to earn a conference Player of the Year accolade. The Baldwinsville, New York native, who ranks 16th in the country in goals per game and 17th in points per game, broke the Ducks' single-season and career record for goals and sits just eight points shy of becoming the second student-athlete in program history to reach 100 points in a single season. The two-time Honorable Mention All-American had 13 hat tricks, including one in each of his last nine games. Gebhardt scored three game-winners, four with the man-advantage and one short-handed and set a new career-high with nine goals and an assist in a victory over Eastern University on Apr. 23.  He also caused 11 turnovers and picked up 38 ground balls. A three-time first-team all-conference honoree, Gebhardt's offensive abilities helped Stevens rank 10th in Division III in scoring offense (19.47 goals per game). 

As important as Gebhardt is to the Ducks' offense, Crotty is equally valuable to the team's defense. The Charlotte, North Carolina native led the Ducks with 24 caused turnovers over 14 games, helping the team rank 20th in caused turnovers per game. The two-time Honorable Mention All-American also picked up 42 ground balls and was a key element of the Ducks' transition offense, helping Stevens to the 10th-best clearing percentage in the country. In the MAC Freedom title game, Crotty caused the 100th turnover of his career en route to his second career all-conference selection.

Coulter continued to excel in several facets for Coach Peluso, whether it was scoring goals, securing possessions or stopping opposing offenses. The Schwenksville, Pennsylvania native finished the regular season with 16 goals and eight assists, setting career highs in both categories. Coulter had one game-winner and will begin play in the NCAA Tournament riding a four-game point streak. He caused 12 turnovers, picked up 71 ground balls to rank second on the team, and won three faceoffs. Coulter also was efficient on offense, finding the back of the net on nearly 50 percent of his shot attempts. The first-team all conference-selection is the second of his career. 

Peluso was tabbed the league's Coach of the Year, marking his fourth accolade during his time on Castle Point. Already the program's all-time career leader in victories, Peluso guided the Ducks to a 13-2 record and the program's first MAC Freedom title to secure the program's 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

Burns earned his First All-Conference selection after a standout third season on Castle Point. The Waxhaw, North Carolina native netted 28 goals with 20 assists to finish third on the team with 48 points, setting new career marks across the board. Burns had four hat tricks and dished out three assists on four different occasions. He set a career high with a six-goal outing in a conference win at Lycoming College on Apr. 10 and totaled five points in the conference championship victory. The third-year midfielder scored a pair of man-advantage goals and had two game-winning goals, while also causing nine turnovers and picking up 30 ground balls. The all-conference selection is the first of his career.

Caplis had a fantastic senior campaign for the Ducks, scoring 26 goals with 11 assists for a career-best 37 points. The Mooresvillle, North Carolina native had four hat tricks and totaled 10 points over three postseason contests. Caplis had a pair of game-winners and the senior scored three times on the man-advantage. He also caused a pair of turnovers and picked up 18 ground balls. Caplis collected at least one point in every game this season and finished with a career-high five points in the conference championship. The all-conference recognition is the first of his career. 

Cawley was a key member of a defensive unit that ranked 24th in scoring defense, holding opponents to a MAC Freedom-low 7.47 goals per game. When paired with the team's potent offense, the Ducks outscored opponents by an even 12 goals per game, which ranked eighth in Division III. Individually, the Syosset, New York native ranked third on the team with 21 caused turnovers, while also picking up 37 ground balls. The all-conference recognition is the first of his career.

A returning All-American, Brennan played a key role in both the midfield and the defensive third for the Ducks. Starting all 15 games, Brennan caused 23 turnovers and picked up 34 ground balls, setting new career highs in each statistic. Brennan helped the Ducks rank 24th in the country in scoring defense and 10th in clearing percentage and also dished out the second and third assists of his career. The all-conference recognition is the third of his career and the second first-team honor.

Park rounded out the Ducks' first-team selections after putting together a strong season in the faceoff circle, registering 160 wins to date, which is the sixth-most in any single season in the program's history. The Fairfax, Virginia native ranked second in the conference in faceoff percentage (0.644) and third in ground balls per game (7.17). Park finished the regular season with a team-leading 86 ground balls and also registered four assists. He won a season-best 20 times in the 'X' in Stevens' non-conference victory over Eastern in the season finale. The all-conference selection is the first of his career. 

Savarese made quite the impact on the offensive side of the field in his first season on Castle Point, finishing second on the team in both goals, 46, and points, 58. The Wilton, Connecticut native ranked fourth in the MAC Freedom in goals per game and eight in points per game. Savarese had at least one goal in 14 of his 15 contests this season and totaled 12 hat tricks, including one in each of the last eight games. The attackman netted three game-winners and scored twice on the man-advantage. He also caused five turnovers and picked up 20 ground balls. 

Zeyher received an honorable mention after coming on strong in the second half of the season, earning nine wins with a 6.21 goals-against average that was tops in the MAC Freedom. The Wilton, Connecticut native totaled 67 saves and registered a 56.3 percent save percentage. Zeyher made a career-high 15 saves in the Ducks' 21-8 semifinal victory over DeSales University.

Click here for the conference's official announcement. 

Up Next: Stevens will head to Lynchburg, Virginia for the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Ducks will take on Catholic University on May 15 in an opening-round matchup. 

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