HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 2, 2023) – Six unanswered goals broke open a tie game and powered the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team to a 20-10 victory over DeSales University Sunday in a MAC Freedom game at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Junior Keegan Hughes paced the Stevens offense with four goals and an assist, while first-year Matthew Pergola and graduate student Kevin Crowley each totaled four points as 18 different players found the scoresheet for the Ducks, who won their second straight to improve to 9-2 on the year and to 2-0 in conference play.

"It was a great win and I am very pleased on how we jumped out early in the first half," head coach Gene Peluso said. "Very impressed with the game we got from Keegan Hughes. He really set the pace and tone early for us."

Tied at two, first-year Joe Leone's seventh marker of the season sparked a run that saw the Ducks score six goals in a span of a little more than six minutes, bridging the first and second quarters. When the run was complete, the Ducks opened an 8-2 lead and never looked back in winning their 33rd straight regular season conference game, a streak that dates back to the 2017 season.

"We are excited to get a conference win and end the week with wins in both of our conference games!" Peluso offered. "We now focus our attention on Wilkes on Wednesday!"

Colin Adams had three goals and two assists and Domenic Maria scored twice to lead DeSales, who saw its two-game winning streak come to an end as the Bulldogs fell to 3-7 on the year and to 1-1 in the MAC Freedom. Stevens has won seven of the 10 all-time meetings between the programs, including each of the last six. 

Senior Jake Wright finished with two goals and an assist, while sophomore Shea Grant scored twice as 11 different players found the back of the net for the Ducks, who have scored 20 or more goals in four of their nine wins. Junior Jack Savarese matched Leone with a goal and an assist, while sophomore Thomas Sabatino dished out two assists for his first career multi-point game. Graduate student Carter Haskel netted his second career goal and joined sophomore Blake Creamer, senior Jack Phelan and sophomore Tommy Robertozzi in scoring once. Sophomores Bryan Creamer, Nicolas Accardo and Jake Connelly each recorded an assist to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions. Connelly's helper on Blake Creamer's fourth-quarter marker was his first collegiate assist.

Graduate student Ryan Leahy made 15 saves to earn the victory. Junior Jake Zeyher stopped one shot over eight second-half minutes. Quinten Lyons made 18 saves in a losing effort for DeSales.

"We were pleased with the play we got from our defensive personnel most notably Cawley, Bryan Creamer, Nick Accardo and Carter Haskel," Peluso said. "Not only did they help us in the defensive end, but they were also great in the clearing game.

The Ducks got off to a fast start, scoring twice in the early stages of the opening quarter. However, Adams scored back-to-back goals, including one on the man-advantage, to even the score. Leone answered just over a minute later, sparking the game-changing run that brought the teams into the second period. Six different players scored during the sequence, punctuated by Haskel's goal that directly followed a successful clear after sophomore Andrew Muller earned a faceoff victory. 

Mark Winkler Jr. briefly halted the surging Stevens offense but consecutive goals from Wright and Saverese pushed the home team's lead to seven. As the second quarter appeared to be coming to a close, DeSales committed a costly turnover. After a shot clock violation returned the ball to DeSales in its own end with 12 seconds left, Lyons attempted to throw the ball down the field instead of running out the clock. Crowley quickly read the play and intercepted the pass with plenty of space to maneuver. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native quickly darted towards the goal and beat the second-quarter buzzer, collecting his 28th of the year just two-tenths-of-a-second before halftime.

DeSales had the first goal of the second half with Pat Wixted finding the back of the net 100 seconds into the third quarter. Pergola and Hughes answered, with Hughes completing his fourth hat trick of the season. The Merrimack transfer would score shorthanded to give the Ducks a 10-goal lead with another marker from Pergola pushing the advantage to 11 entering the final period.

After a relatively quiet third period from an offensive standpoint, the teams combined for nine goals in the final quarter, three of which came on the man-advantage. The teams exchanged markers to open the period and consecutive goals from Angelo Luzzetti and Maria accounted for just the second time in the contest that DeSales strung together consecutive goals. Phelan netted his second of the year on the power play to push the lead back to double figures only for Adams to complete his hat trick two minutes later. Robertozzi and Blake Creamer scored in the final five minutes with Maria's second strike of the game providing the final outcome.

The Ducks were incredibly efficient with their offense in the first two quarters, scoring 12 goals on 21 shots on-frame. For the game, the Ducks fired off 59 shots with 38 registering on target, leading to 20 goals.

Stevens caused 10 of DeSales' 21 turnovers. Senior Joseph Cawley had three caused turnovers to lead the Ducks, while senior David Bendis had two. Five different players each caused one turnover to lead DeSales. 

The teams were evenly matched in the faceoff circle. Muller won 11 times in the 'X' to help the Ducks gain a 16-15 advantage on the day. First-year Will Giarrusso had three faceoff wins, while Bryan Creamer had two. Anthony Gash had nine wins in the 'X' to pace DeSales. The equal play in the faceoff circle led to similar results in ground balls, with DeSales holding a slim 45-42 edge. Bryan Creamer had seven to pace Stevens, while Lyons picked up six to lead the Bulldogs.

The Ducks finished 28 for 30 on clears and were perfect in the first and fourth quarters. Conversely, DeSales was only successful on 17 of its 23 attempts, coughing up the ball three times on eight second-quarter clearing attempts. 

The Ducks went 1 for 8 on the man advantage with Phelan's goal in the final quarter accounting for the squad's power-play production. DeSales went 3 for 11 on the power play, although two of the three scores came in the final period.

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse continues MAC Freedom play on April 5 with a road tilt at Wilkes. The Ducks have won both meetings with the Colonels with the upcoming matchup marking the first contested in the Keystone State. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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