WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (April 5, 2023) – No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse scored the first 12 goals of the game in a 25-2 victory over Wilkes University Wednesday in a MAC Freedom matchup at Schmidt Stadium.

First-year Matthew Pergola had three goals and an assist and junior Jack Savarese added two goals and a pair of assists for the Ducks, who improved to 10-2 on the year and to 3-0 in conference play. The Ducks have won 34 straight regular season conference contests.

Dillon Kadis and Tim Hartka each scored for Wilkes, who lost its fifth straight in falling to 2-9 on the year and to 0-3 in the MAC Freedom. The Ducks have won both all-time meetings with the Colonels. 

"A great win tonight from start to finish!" head coach Gene Peluso said. "I was very happy that every healthy player was able to play a good amount of minutes. Now we get geared up for next week's games with Arcadia and King's."

Sophomore Jake Connelly and junior Shea Grant joined graduate student Kevin Crowley and senior Shaun Spiegel in totaling a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who saw 20 different players finish with at least one point. Senior Jake Wright and junior Joseph Grippo joined sophomore Nicolas Accardo and first-year Joe Leone in finishing with a goal and an assist. Sophomore Thomas Sabatino scored twice for his first career multi-goal outing as a remarkable 17 Ducks found the back of the net at least once as Stevens crossed the 20-goal mark for the third straight game and for the fifth time this season. 

Sophomore Jack Ramos, senior Trevor Carroll, sophomore Dominic Piselli, senior Henry Johnson, first-year Mac Waynick and senior Jack Phelan each scored once to round out the Ducks' goal-scorers. The markers for Waynick and Piselli were the first career goal for each student-athlete. Sophomores Blake Creamer and Thomas Robertozzi joined first-year Miles du Bois in dishing out an assist to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions.

"It is always great to see players get their first career goals!" Peluso commented.

Graduate student Ryan Leahy did not face a shot in seven minutes of action but still earned his 10th win of the year. Sophomore Cooper Foote and junior Jake Zeyher combined for seven saves across the second and third quarters, with Foote stopping a season-high three shots, while Zeyher matched a season high with four. Sophomore Quinton Smith relieved Leahy midway through the first quarter and classmate Justin Gold did not face a shot in the fourth quarter as all five netminders saw time in the cage for the second time this season. Joseph Marino made 16 saves in a losing effort for Wilkes.

"All five goalies played great, as did our faceoff personnel," Peluso shared.

Stevens took control of the game early in the first quarter. Sophomore Bryan Creamer won the opening faceoff. Pergola took the first shot of the game four seconds later, but Marino turned the shot away. Wilkes moved the ball out of its defensive end and successfully cleared the ball, however, the Ducks forced an uncaused turnover and 22 seconds later, Wright found the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season to open the scoring.

The Ducks won the ensuing faceoff on a Wilkes violation and quickly converted with Grant netting his first of the evening. Sophomore Andrew Muller won the next faceoff and Savarese found the back of the net as the Ducks scored three goals on their first five shots. 

Stevens built a 12-0 lead before Kadis found the back of the net for Wilkes with five seconds left in the opening period, taking advantage of an extra-man opportunity, to end the Stevens scoring run.

Crowley, Ramos and Spiegel each scored in the second period as the Ducks took a 15-1 lead into halftime. Hartka broke through early in the third quarter for the Colonels' second goal of the night, but the Ducks scored the final 10 goals of the game to provide the final margin of victory. 

The Ducks were efficient offensively in building their early lead, scoring 12 goals on 23 shots (17 on-goal). Conversely, the Ducks didn't concede more than seven shots in any of the four quarters, including just one in the final period.

Muller was nearly perfect in the faceoff circle, winning 10 times in 11 attempts as the Ducks gained a 29-2 edge in the 'X'. Junior Conner Park was a perfect 9 for 9, while Bryan Creamer finished 3 for 3. First-year Will Giarrusso matched a career high with seven faceoff wins to round out the Ducks' efforts. Bradley Anacreon won twice for Wilkes.

The success in the faceoff circle contributed to the Ducks' 47-16 edge in ground balls. Bryan Creamer finished with a team-high five, while Piselli set a career high with four. Anacreon scooped up four to pace the Colonels. 

Senior Joe Cawley was one of four Ducks to cause a turnover as the Syosset, New York native finished with a game-high three. Senior David Bendis had two, while Bryan Creamer and first-year Luke Lesizza each had one. Twenty of Wilkes' 27 miscues were unforced.

Stevens was nearly perfect on clears, finishing 20 for 21. Conversely, Wilkes finished 20 for 29 as the Ducks continue to rank among the nation's leaders in opposing clearing percentage. 

Wilkes scored once on three power-play opportunities, while the Ducks did not convert either of their two chances on the evening.

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse hosts Arcadia at the DeBaun Athletic Complex on Apr. 12. The Ducks have won all three meetings since joining the MAC Freedom, including a 12-10 result in last year's MAC Freedom title game.

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