CARLISLE, Pa. (May 14, 2022)  – Sophomore Jack Savarese posted his eighth hat trick of the season, but the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team fell to No. 7 Dickinson College 20-6 Saturday in an NCAA Championship second-round game at Biddle Field. 

Graduate student Ryan Caplis and seniors Michael Burns and Tyler Ryan each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who dropped to 13-8 on the year. The setback snapped the Ducks' six-game winning streak. 

Skyler Schluter had three goals and an assist and James Isaacson and Sam Campbell each scored four times for the Red Devils, who remained perfect in moving to 19-0. Seventh-ranked Dickinson will host No. 16 Gettysburg Sunday in a third-round matchup, which will be a rematch of the Centennial Conference championship game. 

"Obviously, not the result we were hoping for," head coach Gene Peluso said. "We really started the game on our heels and had a tough time getting the ball to our offense."

"Possession was key and Dickinson dominated the faceoff and ground ball play," Peluso continued. "A tough way for our seniors to go out, but we love them all and appreciate their hard work throughout their careers."

Junior David Bendis dished out the second assist of his career to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions. The contest marked the final collegiate game for several of the Ducks. Over the last five seasons, the Ducks have won 65 games, captured three conference championships and won three games in the NCAA Tournament.

"We expect that all of our student-athletes will be very successful moving forward," Peluso reflected. "The outcome of today's game will not change that."

First-year Justin Gold drew his first career start and made a career-high 17 saves. Chris Brandau made 15 saves to earn the victory for Dickinson. Patrick Scarborough relieved Brandau in the fourth quarter and made a pair of saves to preserve the victory.

Stevens found itself behind early, with goals from Isaacson and Schluter giving the hosting Red Devils a two-goal lead three minutes into the contest. Dickinson would add a pair of goals less than a minute apart to double its lead, before the Ducks were able to get on the board courtesy of consecutive goals from Caplis and Savarese to pull within two.

The Ducks had a chance to further cut into the lead, but the Red Devils had a pair of faceoff wins in the final 20 seconds, which led to transition goals from Tucker Booth and Sascha Gannon gave Dickinson a 6-2 lead through one quarter. Faceoffs proved to be a key component of Saturday's game, with the hosts winning 22 times, while the Ducks had eight. Sophomore Russell Eberding led the Ducks with seven wins in the 'X.' John McKee led Dickinson with 20. 

The second quarter saw Dickinson add three goals to its lead to take a 9-2 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Goals from Burns and Savarese drew the Ducks back to within six at 10-4, but consecutive markers over a 38-second span pushed the deficit back to eight. Ryan would net his 24th goal to halt the Dickinson run, but the Red Devils broke the game open with four unanswered goals bridging the third and fourth quarters. Savarese completed his hat trick early in the fourth, but Dickinson netted the final goals of the game to provide the final margin of victory.

The Ducks pressed Dickinson into 20 turnovers, the fifth-most for the Red Devils this season. Junior Joe Cawley caused a career-high five to lead the Ducks' efforts, while Ryan, seniors Evan Eggleston and Aidan Hinphy, and sophomore Mikey Whiteside each caused one.

The edge in faceoffs helped Dickinson gain a 53-31 advantage in ground balls, just the sixth time this season the Ducks have been out-earned in ground balls. Hinphy matched a season- and career-high with five to lead Stevens, while McKee scooped up nine to pace Dickinson.

Stevens finished 23 for 27 on clears, including a perfect 9 for 9 in the first quarter. Dickinson finished 29 of 34, but went 15 for 17 across the second and third quarters in breaking the game open.

The Ducks were unable to convert their extra-man opportunity. Ethan Gess scored on the man-advantage in the fourth quarter to account for Dickinson's lone power-play goal in three opportunities.

Up Next: Continue to log on to StevensDucks.com for offseason news and notes.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise