HOBOKEN, N.J.. (April 23, 2022)  – Sophomore Jack Savarese totaled three goals and three assists to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team to a 20-5 victory over Wilkes University Saturday in a MAC Freedom matchup at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Sophomore Mikey Whiteside finished with four goals and an assist and senior Michael Burns and sophomore Joseph Grippo each added two goals and an assist for the Ducks, who improved to 8-7 on the year and to a perfect 6-0 in league play. The victory clinched a spot in the MAC Freedom tournament for the Ducks, who will take part in postseason play for the 11th consecutive season, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The Ducks have won 29 consecutive regular season league contests. 

Ethan Weaver had a goal and two assists and Luke Palladino scored twice for the Colonels, who dropped to 4-12 on the year and to 0-7 in conference play. Wilkes has lost its last nine contests.

"It was great to get another conference win today and it was great to play all of our healthy players," head coach Gene Peluo said. "Really impressed with the offensive play of Mikey Whiteside, Jack Savarese and Brendan Sullivan today."

Seniors Tyler Ryan and Brendan Sullivan each scored three times as 13 different players finished with at least one point. First-years Shea Grant and Jack Ramos joined sophomore Russell Eberding in scoring a goal to round out the Ducks' goal scorers. First-year Blake Creamer and graduate student Ryan Caplis each finished with two assists, while junior David Bendis had one to round out Stevens' offensive contributions. Eberding's fourth-quarter tally was the first of his career, while Bendis' second-quarter helper on Grippo's first goal of the game was the Naperville, Illinois native's first collegiate point.

All four goalies saw time in the cage for the Ducks. Sophomore Jake Zeyher drew the start and made four saves to earn the victory. Fellow sophomore Cooper Foote made one save over 11 minutes and first-years Justin Gold and Quinton Smith split the final nine minutes. Ryan Lasher made 29 saves in defeat for Wilkes. Daniel Cox relieved Lasher late in the fourth quarter and made two saves. The Ducks fired off 77 shots against the Wilkes netminders, marking the Ducks' second contest this season with 70 or more attempts

"The Wilkes goalie played sensational and they're always very well coached, so to have the offensive production that we had was great to see," Peluso commented. "Now we prepare for a very good, and well coached, Arcadia team.".

After alternating the first two goals of the game, the Ducks broke the game open with six unanswered goals to take a commanding 7-1 lead into the second quarter. Sullivan began the barrage with his 25th of the year, and goals from Whiteside, Ryan, Burns pushed the lead to five. Sullivan and Burns would cap the rally with goals in the final three minutes to give the Ducks a comfortable margin. Sullivan's three first-quarter goals marked the fifth hat trick of the year for the Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania native.

The Colonels would score twice in the second quarter, but four Stevens goals were sandwiched in between as the Ducks took an 11-3 lead into the intermission. 

The Ducks padded their lead in the third quarter, outscoring Wilkes 4-0. Ryan, Savarese, Whiteside and Grant each scored, but perhaps more impressively, was the Ducks' dominant defensive performance. Stevens held Wilkes to just one shot in the period and forced 11 turnovers. The Colonels went 3 for 11 on clears in the third and the Ducks won all five of the quarter's faceoffs.

Whiteside completed his first career hat trick with consecutive goals to open the fourth quarter and markers from Eberding, Grippo and Ramos provided the final margin of victory. The Ducks currently rank third in the MAC Freedom with 14 goals per game.

Wilkes committed 42 turnovers, with the Ducks causing 20 of them. Stevens' 20 caused turnovers are the most for the program since the Ducks' forced 24 in an Empire 8 Conference victory over Elmira on Apr. 22, 2015. Graduate student Owen Stempkovski and junior Jake Wright joined Ryan, Zeyher and first-year Bryan Creamer in causing two turnovers each as 14 different players forced at least one. 

"Defensively, we thought David Bendis stood out," Peluso shared. "He did a great job as our LSM and also did a great job on the wings during faceoffs."

The Ducks had a strong day in the faceoff circle, winning 24 times, against just four for the Colonels. Eberding went 12-1, while sophomore Conner Park added 11 wins. Senior Tom Conway went 1 for 1 in the 'X' to round out the Ducks' efforts in the faceoff circle. Bradley Anacreon had two wins and Henry O'Connor and Luke Wawrzynek each won once for Wilkes.

"We received dominant performances at the faceoff X from both Conner Park and Russell Eberding," Peluso said. "Eberding also scored his first career goal, and that was great to see."

Spurred by an advantage in both the faceoff circle and in turnover margin, the Ducks held a 61-31 margin in ground balls. The 61 ground balls marked a season high. Park and Eberding led the efforts with a combined 15, while first-year Nicolas Accardo picked up a career-high five as 23 different players each had at least one. Hunter Riley led Wilkes with five.

Each team went 1 for 2 on the man advantage, with Whiteside finding the back of the net for a powerplay goal in the fourth quarter. Weaver scored on the man-advantage for Wilkes in the second quarter. Burns added a short-handed goal in the first-quarter as the Ducks successfully killed off a three-minute illegal equipment penalty.
 
Stevens finished the day 27 of 34 on clears, while holding Wilkes to just 26 of 40. The Ducks were a perfect 6 for 6 in the third quarter and then went 6 for 8 in the fourth. 

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse continues MAC Freedom play on Apr. 27 for a road matchup with Arcadia. Formerly annual opponents from 2016-2018, Wednesday's meeting will be just the second since 2018. Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

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