CARLISLE, Pa. (May 13, 2023) – Junior Jack Savarese matched a career high with eight points as No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse defeated Kenyon College 20-11 Saturday in an NCAA second round matchup hosted by Dickinson College at Biddle Field.

Savarese scored five times and dished out three assists to match his eight-point output in the Ducks' victory over Arcadia on Apr. 12. The Wilton, Connecticut native scored three times over a two-minute stretch late in the second quarter that saw Stevens open a four-goal lead at halftime. The hat trick pushed Savarese's season total to 12th and the three-goal sequence included the junior's first career short-handed goal.

"Great win today!" head coach Gene Peluso said. "We loved how we played in the second and third quarters. The play we received from our attack and our midfielders was great and they helped us play fast and get sone opportunities."

"I thought our shooters settled in after the first quarter and we were then able to execute offensively," Peluso continued. "Defensively, we played solid, and had a great game from Leahy to turn away a good amount of doorstep opportunities."

Graduate student Kevin Crowley had four goals and an assist and first-year Matthew Pergola totaled six points for the Ducks, who won their 11th straight to improve to 18-2, matching the 2018 Ducks for the most wins in any single-season in program history. The Ducks have won a game in each of their seven NCAA appearances under Peluso. Stevens will face hosting Dickinson Sunday after the Red Devils defeated John Carroll earlier in the day.

Jack Giuffre and David Chintala each had two goals and two assists to lead Kenyon, who saw its season come to an end in falling to 15-3. The Ducks' 20-goal output was the most by any Kenyon opponent in four years (Ohio Wesleyan scored 25 in a victory over the Owls on May 2, 2019). Saturday's game was the first between the teams since 2009, with the Ducks winning both all-time meetings.

"The Kenyon team was well coached, and their faceoff unit was tough!" Peluso commented. "We needed all hands on deck to compete there this afternoon. Now we focus on Dickinson: they are another great team that we will have to work hard to be successful. Everyone at this time of year is very talented and Dickinson has had a great year."

Junior Joseph Grippo had two goals and an assist and junior Keegan Hughes had a goal and an assist as 13 players found the scoresheet as the Ducks hit 20 goals for the fifth straight game and for the 12th time in 2023. Senior Jake Wright joined classmate Joseph DuGuida sophomore Shea Grant and first-years Will Giarrusso and Joe Leone in scoring once. The fourth-quarter goal by Giarrusso was the first of his career, while DeGuida found the back of the net for the third time in four games. Graduate student Carter Haskel joined sophomores Dominic Piselli and Nicolas Accardo in recording an assist to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions.

Graduate student Ryan Leahy stopped 17 shots to post his 11th double-digit save performance and secure his 18th victory. Adam Hall made 12 saves in a losing effort for Kenyon. Ryan Matarese relieved Hall in the final period and recorded a pair of saves. 

Crowley put the Ducks on the board just 50 seconds into play. Kenyon won the game-opening faceoff and had the first two shots of the game, with Leahy snagging Heath Rollins' scoring try. Following the save, Leahy then helped transition the Ducks into offense and after a successful clear, Crowley picked up a loose ball and beat Hall for his 55th goal of the season. 

The Ducks scored three of the first four goals of the game in what was shaping up as a relatively low-scoring opening period. However, the teams combined for three goals in the final 90 seconds that resulted in the Ducks holding a 4-3 lead. 

Joe Boesel knotted the game six minutes into the second only for Hughes to score on the man-advantage to put the Ducks back in front for good. Savarese's heroics sent the squads into halftime with the Ducks in front by four. 

Rowan Goldin cut into the Ducks lead with the first goal of the second half, however, Grippo responded for the Ducks, sparking a stretch that saw Stevens score seven of the next eight goals to break the game open. Five different Ducks scored during the game-changing sequence, with Pergola and Crowley each netting two goals as the Ducks opened a nine-goal lead.

Wright scored to open the fourth quarter and Giarrusso scored off the ensuing faceoff to extend the Ducks' goal run to five. Chintala briefly slowed the Ducks down, but Savarese answered 39 seconds later before Crowley capped his day with his fourth goal of the afternoon to push the lead to 19-7. Kenyon scored four times late in the fourth quarter, with Grippo scoring on the power play to produce the Ducks' final margin of victory. 

Kenyon, who came into the game with the third-best faceoff winning percentage in the regular season (0.688), won 29 of the game's 34 faceoffs. Giarrusso had two of the Ducks' victories in the circle, both of which directly led to Stevens goals. Junior Conner Park and sophomore Andrew Muller joined Accardo in winning one faceoff. Thomas Nelson won 21 times in the circle to lead Kenyon. 

Despite Kenyon's advantage in the faceoff circle, each team picked up 40 ground balls. Crowley and Leahy each had six to lead the Ducks, while first-year Luke Lesizza scooped up five. 

The Ducks forced 10 of Kenyon's season-high 26 turnovers. Lesizza joined Haskel and sophomore Bryan Creamer in causing two turnovers each. Conversely, the Ducks matched their third-lowest total of the season with just 14 turnovers. Over their last four games, the Ducks have produced three of their lowest turnover numbers of the seasons.

Hughes and Grippo scored on the man-advantage as the Ducks went 2 for 3 on the power play, while holding Kenyon to 2 of 7.

One of the best clearing units during the regular season, the Ducks were successful on 32 of their 34 attempts, while holding the Owls to just 14 of 20.

Up Next: No. 20 Men's Lacrosse faces No. 6 Dickinson Sunday afternoon with a spot in next weekend's quarterfinals on the line. The Ducks fell to the Red Devils 13-6 earlier this season. Sunday's third-round contest marks the second straight season that the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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