GLENSIDE, Pa. (April 27, 2022)  – Junior Jake Wright scored a pair of fourth-quarter goals as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team defeated Arcadia University 10-8 Wednesday in a MAC Freedom matchup at JLW Field. 

Senior Brendan Sullivan and sophomore Jack Savarese each finished with two goals and an assist for the Ducks, who improved to 9-7 on the year and to 7-0 in conference play. The victory was the Ducks' 30th straight win in regular-season conference play and clinched the program's second consecutive MAC Freedom regular-season crown. The Ducks will host the winner of the league's play-in game at the DeBaun Athletic Complex on May 5.

Billy Burton scored twice and Brady Manion had three assists for the Knights, who dropped to 10-5 on the year and to 6-1 in the MAC Freedom. Arcadia, who has lost its last two contests, will play Misericordia in its regular-season finale, with postseason positioning on the line. Stevens has won all five meetings between the programs.

"A great gritty win by the guys on the road against a very tough Arcadia team," head coach Gene Peluso said. "We knew that it would be a difficult task, but I love how our guys responded late in the game."

"I am very excited that we won the regular-season conference championship, but we are focused on Lycoming first and then we will dial in for the MAC Freedom playoffs," Peluso continued. "Lycoming will get our fullest attention because I believe they are the most improved team in the conference and are very well coached."

Senior Tyler Ryan had a goal and an assist as eight different players had at least one point. Senior Michael Burns and graduate student Ryan Caplis each added a goal, while first-year Michael Farinacci and sophomore Mikey Whiteside each dished out an assist to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions. Ryan's two points moved the Kings Park, New York native across the 100-point plateau - the fourth Duck to reach the career milestone this season, alongside Caplis, Burns and Savarese.

Sophomore Jake Zeyher drew the start and made seven saves to earn the victory. Timmy Fyock made 14 saves in defeat for Arcadia. 

The first period provided plenty of fireworks as the teams combined for eight goals. Arcadia scored on its first possession of the game and doubled its lead 80 seconds later, before Sullivan netted his first of the evening to put Stevens on the board.

Trailing by two, the Ducks scored twice in 15 seconds to draw even at 4. Savarese fed Ryan to trim the deficit to one. Arcadia would win the ensuing faceoff but senior Aidan Hinphy stripped James Barretta and quickly cleared the ball and moved the Ducks upfield. Farinacci was able to find Savarese for the game-tying goal with essentially no time left on the clock.

The Knights would strike first in the second quarter, with Wesley Sporer netting his 13th of the year, but the Ducks would take control of the game with goals from Sullivan and Savarese to take a 6-5 lead into the intermission. 

The third quarter would see Arcadia open scoring for the third straight period, but Caplis would take advantage of a Brian Moulton cross check to jump in front for good. Caplis' goal was the Ducks' second of the evening that occurred in the final minute of a quarter. 

Burns opened scoring early in the fourth quarter to push the Ducks' lead to two and Wright scored 40 seconds later to push the advantage to three. The third-year midfielder completed his first career hat trick minutes later to again give the Ducks a three-goal cushion.

"The game we received from both Jake Wright and Brendan Sullivan in the midfield was big for us tonight," Peluso commented.

Burton would score on the power play with a little under five minutes to play to trim Stevens' lead to two, but the Ducks defense stepped up and would block a shot, force a turnover, and record a save in the final three minutes to preserve the victory. 

The teams combined for 47 turnovers, with Stevens winning the turnover margin in the first half and Arcadia doing so in the second. The Ducks caused 11 of the Knights' 23 miscues, with junior Joe Cawley causing three and junior David Bendis, graduate student Sean Scadded and Hinphy each causing two.

"It wasn't our cleanest game in terms of clears, but we did enough to get the win," Peluso said. "Defensively, David Bendis and Aidan Hinphy were excellent."

Sophomore Conner Park led the Ducks' efforts in the faceoff circle as Stevens won 13 of the game's 21 faceoffs. Sophomore Russell Eberding had the Ducks' other two victories in the circle. A.J. Dominguez led Arcadia with five faceoff wins. However, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Park won all six of the final-period faceoffs.

"Conner Park gave us extra possessions, which became key late in the game," Peluso offered.

The Ducks finished with a 47-43 edge in ground balls, on the strength of a 15-8 edge in the second quarter. Park's efforts in the faceoff circle led to the Fairfax, Virginia native picking up a game-high eight ground balls, while Cawley, Bendis, Scadden, Wright and Burns each had four. 

Each team went 2 for 2 on extra-man opportunities. Savarese and Caplis had the power-play goals for the Ducks, while Brian Albertsen and Burton accounted for the extra-man goals for Arcadia.
 
The Ducks finished 26 for 33 on clearing attempts, including a perfect 6 for 6 in the opening quarter. Arcadia finished 20 for 28. 

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse welcomes Lycoming College to the DeBaun Athletic Complex for the regular-season finale. The Ducks have won all three meetings between the programs. Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com. Prior to the contest, the program will honor and celebrate its Class of 2022 in a pregame ceremony.

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