LYNCHBURG, Va. (May 15, 2021)  – Senior Ryan Gebhardt had six goals and two assists and first-year Jake Zeyher made 14 saves as No. 19 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse defeated Catholic University 17-12 Saturday in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Championship. The neutral-site matchup was hosted by No. 4 University of Lynchburg on its Shellenberger Field.

First-year Jack Savarese had four goals and an assist and senior Ryan Caplis and sophomore Jake Wright each scored twice for the Ducks, who won their 10th straight game to improve to 14-2. The Ducks have won at least one game in each of the team's five trips to the NCAA Championship under 12th year head coach Gene Peluso. Peluso ranks 12th among all active Division III coaches in career victories. 

Sean Baudo had three goals and two assists and Kevin Crowley added three goals and an assist for Catholic, who saw its season come to an end. The Cardinals suffered their first loss of the year and concluded the 2021 season 8-1. It was the first meeting between the programs.

"It was a hard fought game against a very good Catholic team," Peluso said. "They play a tough style of play and really challenged us the whole way."

"We did some great things today to get shots off," Peluso continued. "We will need to convert more of those shots tomorrow."

Stevens will meet Lynchburg Sunday in a second-round matchup. The Hornets defeated Pfeiffer University 26-11 in the opening game of the afternoon to improve to 17-2. Lynchburg earned the automatic bid from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the program's 17 victories are tops in Division III. Appearing in their 10th straight national tournament, the victory over the Falcons moved the program to 9-2 all-time in home NCAA tournament games. Stevens last met Lynchburg in 2011, earning a 13-10 victory on Shellenberger Field.

"We are excited about beating a good Catholic team," Peluso offered. "However, now, we have to bounce back and be ready for an excellent Lynchburg team."

Gebhardt's eight-point afternoon brought the high-scoring senior's season total to 100, matching Hall of Famer J.R. Maehler's output in 2007 atop the single-season scoring list. The Baldwinsville, New York native is just the second student-athlete in the program's illustrious history to reach 100 points in a single season. Gebhardt has already broken two program records this season.

Senior Jason Coyle had a goal and an assist and first-year Nolan Quade and junior Brendan Sullivan each found the back of the net as seven different Ducks had at least one goal. Junior Larry Park and classmate Michael Burns each had two assists, while Savarese, senior Shawn Coulter, first-year Mikey Whiteside and graduate student Bubba Brennan each dished out one to round out the Ducks' offensive efforts.

"Jake Wright came up big today with two well-time goals," Peluso said. 

Zeyher drew the start and earned his 10th straight victory. The Wilton, Connecticut native made 10 stops in the second half and finished the afternoon one shy of matching a career high. Nic Pezone made 24 saves in defeat for the Cardinals.

"Zeyher was huge for us in the second half, making 10 saves," Peluso commented.

Catholic got on the board first, with Baudo opening scoring in the second minute, beating Zeyher less than 90 seconds into the game. However, the Cardinals' advantage was short-lived, with Caplis and Gebhardt scoring on consecutive possessions to put Stevens in front for the first time. The quick scores began a sequence of seven unanswered goals over a six-minute period that ultimately proved too much for Catholic to overcome. 

Kevin Crowley scored near the end of the first period to stop the Stevens run, only to see Quade open second-period scoring with his fifth goal of the year after graduate student Daniel Crotty stripped Ben Karthaus leading to the transition score.

"We had big two-way play from Coulter and Quade," Peluso said. "They played great defensively and got us into our transition offense."

Three straight goals brought Catholic to within three at 8-5 before Sullivan and Caplis beat Pezone to give the Ducks a 10-7 advantage at the intermission.

Using the momentum gained from Baudo's last-second goal right before halftime, Catholic trimmed the Ducks' lead to just one when Baudo completed his hat trick. 

Gebhardt netted his fourth of the day to put Stevens in front by two and Park won the ensuing face and fed Savarese for a goal six seconds later. Park's two assists marked his first career multi-point game. 

"Loved the game by Larry Park today," Peluso shared. "He was dominant at the dot and he did a great job getting us many possessions and feeding the ball."

After Catholic pulled back within two, Stevens again had an answer, with Gebhardt again finding the back of the net. He has eight games with five or more goals this season. 

Wright bridged the third and fourth quarters to push Stevens' lead to five before Savarese and Gebhardt gave the Ducks valuable breathing room with consecutive goals. Jack McGorry and Crowley scored with two seconds left in the game to provide the final margin.

"Jake Wright came up big today with two well-time goals," Peluso reflected.

Stevens fired off 72 shots on the afternoon, with 41 registering on-goal. Gebhardt fired off a game-high 28 shots, while Savarese had seven. Baudo had 15 and Crowley had 11 to lead Catholic. The Ducks have taken 70 or more shots three times this season. 

Ten different student-athletes caused one turnover as the Ducks registered a caused turnover on 10 of Catholic's 17 miscues. Conversely, Stevens committed just 12 turnovers on the day, with the Cardinals causing four of them.

"Aidan Hinphy and Bubba Brennan were great for us on defense," Peluso said. "Jason Coyle also played great today by being a presence for us in the middle of the field."

Park went 18-7 on faceoffs as Stevens won 21 of the game's 33 faceoffs. The Fairfax, Virginia native has won 178 times this season and holds the fourth-most wins in the 'X' in any season in program history. First-year Conner Park had accounted for the Ducks' other three faceoff wins. Mike McShea had 12 wins to lead Catholic.

Park's performance in the 'X' helped Stevens gain a 61-52 edge in ground balls. Coulter and Zeyher each scooped up nine as 17 different student-athletes had at least one. McShea had 13 to lead Catholic.

Continuing its effectiveness in transitioning from defense to offense, the Ducks were successful on 25 of their 28 clearing attempts. Catholic went 23 for 28.

Each team committed one second-half penalty.

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse takes on No. 4 Lynchburg Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Links for live stats, video and tickets are available on StevensDucks.com.

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