SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 26, 2023) – Junior Keegan Hughes had five goals and an assist to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team over Springfield College 13-5 Sunday in a non-conference matchup at Stagg Field. 

Junior Jack Savarese had four goals and an assist and first-year Matthew Pergola finished with two goals and an assist for the Ducks, who won their second straight to improve to 3-1.

Conor Tracy had two goals and Alek Turi had a goal and an assist for Springfield, who dropped to 0-2. The Ducks have won the last six meetings between the programs.

Senior Jake Wright and sophomore Larson Cronk each found the back of the net for the Ducks, who had eight players finish with at least one point. Graduate student Kevin Crowley, sophomore Shea Grant and first-year Joe Leone each dished out an assist to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions. 

"We played a great game today, earning a great win against a tough team on the road," head coach Gene Peluso said. "We're really impressed with the play of Keegan Hughes and Luke Lesizza. Keegan did a great job of getting us going early and often and we thought Luke did a great job shutting down his attachment throughout the day."

Graduate student Ryan Leahy drew the start and made 12 saves to earn the victory. Junior Jake Zeyher relieved late in the fourth quarter and stopped one shot. Aidan Strebel had five saves in defeat for Springfield. Dean Pesce relieved Strebel after the Ducks' ninth goal and had three saves.  

"Ryan Leahy really did a nice job throughout the game, turning away a lot of great opportunities and making big saves especially in the first half," Peluso said.

The Ducks scored the first four goals of the game to take control of the game in the first quarter. Hughes had the first marker of the game 2:01 into play as the Ducks took advantage of an early Springfield turnover. After Springfield won the ensuing faceoff, Crowley caused a turnover and fed Savarese for a quick goal just 13 seconds later. Savarese would score on the Ducks' next possession as Stevens scored on each of its three offensive-zone possessions.

"We also want to recognize the play of Jack Savarese and Paddy Phelps," Peluso said.

Springfield finally got on the board with a power-play goal in the second period, but Hughes answered to give the Ducks a 5-1 lead at halftime. 

Wright scored an unassisted goal to open scoring in the third quarter. Tracy netted his first of the day to answer, but Hughes answered 27 seconds later to reclaim a five-goal advantage. Turi followed but Pergola beat the third-quarter buzzer after sophomore Bryan Creamer stripped Matthew Webb to return a five-goal lead for the Ducks. 

Stevens broke the game open with the first three goals of the final period. Hughes began the stretch with Savarese scoring twice in a two-minute stretch to give the Ducks an 11-3 advantage. The teams alternated the final four goals of the game to provide the final margin of victory.

"Great win, but now we are dialed in for our Wednesday matchup against Maritime!" Peluso commented. "They are a well-coached group, and a very tough team, and we will have to be at our very best to travel and compete against them in a rematch of last year's NCAA first-round playoff game."

Each team finished with 34 shots, but interestingly, despite Stevens having an 8-3 lead through three quarters, it was Springfield that outshot the Ducks 27-18. The Ducks outshot Springfield 16-7 in the final quarter. Impressively, 21 of the Ducks' 34 shots were on goal.

The Ducks finished 23 of 27 on clears and went 12 for 13 in the second half in securing the victory. Springfield finished 13 of 18. 

Springfield won 16 of the game's 22 faceoffs. Junior Conner Park led the Ducks with four wins in the 'X,' with first-year Will Giarrusso and Creamer each winning once. Steven Betsch had all 16 of Springfield's faceoff victories. Springfield also gained a 37-28 edge in ground balls with Gavin Carzello leading the Pride's efforts with seven. Leahy, senior Joseph Cawley and first-year Luke Lesizza each had five to lead Stevens.

Stevens forced Springfield into 23 turnovers, with Cawley, Lesizza, Creamer and Crowley each causing two.

The Ducks went 0 for 2 on the man advantage, while Springfield went 1 for 2. 

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse heads to Throggs Neck, New York on Mar. 1 to take on Maritime College. The contest will be a rematch of last season's NCAA first-round matchup in Hoboken. It will be the first meeting between the teams in New York since 2006. Links for live stats and video will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.

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