YORK, Pa. (May 13, 2023) – Three Ducks recorded a goal and an assist as the No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team defeated Scranton 7-5 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at Kinsley Field hosted by York.

For the second-straight season, the Ducks have won a NCAA Tournament game as they beat SUNY Canton 27-2 in last year's tournament. The team has also matched last season's win total of 18. Stevens will now take on No. 10 York in the next round, whom the Ducks have already lost to earlier this season.

Fifth-year Camryn Rogers, junior Emily Leiby, and sophomore Emily Smart each recorded two points in the game, tallying a goal and an assist. Fifth-year Morgan Westerby, along with senior Julieann Murphy, sophomore Alison Lax, and first-year Stefanie Sellitto, each put in a goal. Senior Maddie Schmidt provided an assist to round out the contributions for the Ducks.

Grace Lane scored four goals to lead Scranton. Molly McCarren also added a goal. The Royals finished the season with a 10-10 record.

Graduate student Lauren Cunniff drew the start between the pipes and earned her 18th win of the season. She made five saves in the game. Lauren Boldis started for Scranton and she made eight saves.

It was a battle between the two teams as goals were not easy to come by. Neither team scored for the first eight minutes of the game. Finally at the 6:17 mark, Westerby broke the deadlock as she scored her 35th of the season on an assist from Smart. Prior to the goal, the Ducks had two attempts on goal that were saved. After another tense five minutes that included another Scranton save, Smart scored on an assist from Leiby to double the Ducks' advantage. Scranton would tally their first of the game in the final minute as Stevens led 2-1 heading to the second.

Stevens essentially won the game in the second quarter as they put four past the Royals. They kicked things off early in this frame as Sellitto capitalized at the 12:37 mark to restore the Ducks' two goal lead. Just over a minute later, Lax found the back of the net to put Stevens up 4-1. The Ducks capped off a 4-0 run with goals from Leiby and Rogers to take a 6-1 lead late in the second. Scranton struck twice before the quarter ended as Stevens led 6-3 at the break.

For the first time this season, Stevens played in a game that had zero goals in a regulation period, as the Ducks and Royals were both unable to find the net in the third. Lane forced Cunniff into a save early in the quarter but besides that, neither team was able to put a shot on target. Stevens maintained their three goal lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Scranton struck first in the fourth as Lane scored from a free-position attempt to end a 19 minute goalless drought in the game. Stevens responded 87 seconds later with an unassisted goal by Murphy to quickly go back up by three. Cunniff made two saves after the Murphy goal that kept the Ducks up three. Scranton tallied their fifth goal with 44 seconds on the clock, but their comeback effort came up short as the Ducks took the win to move on to the next round.

Stevens had five draw controls while Scranton had 11. Sellitto led the Ducks with four and Westerby added one.

The Ducks were successful on 24 of their 27 clear attempts. The Royals went 16 for 23 on clear attempts.

The Ducks caused 16 of the 25 Scranton turnovers. First-year Eran Gleason led the team with four while first-year Lauren Sullivan tallied three. Westerby, Schmidt, graduate student Josie Cook, and first-year Lindsay Esposito had two. Lax added one. Scranton caused 10 of the 16 Stevens turnovers.

The Ducks went zero for two on free-position attempts. The Royals went one for two on free-position attempts.

Up Next: The Ducks will take on the hosts York in the next round. The two teams faced off earlier this season with the Spartans winning 20-8 at York. The game will take place tomorrow at 1 p.m.