CARLISLE, Pa. (May 14, 2023) – Junior Jack Savarese had three goals and an assist, but No. 20 Stevens Men's Lacrosse dropped a hard-fought 12-10 decision to No. 6 Dickinson College Sunday in an NCAA third-round matchup at Biddle Field. 

Junior Keegan Hughes had two goals and an assist and graduate student Kevin Crowley scored twice for the Ducks, who saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end in dropping to 18-3. The Ducks' 18 victories matched the program record for wins in a single season and the squad's .900 winning percentage is tied for the second-best mark in team history behind the 1943 and 1944 squads, who each finished their respective season a perfect 7-0.

Skyler Schluter had three goals and two assists and Sascha Gannon and Sam Campbell each finished with a goal and an assist for Dickinson, who won its 12th straight to improve to 17-3. The Red Devils extended their winning streak at Biddle Field to 10.

"Proud of every one of our guys today," head coach Gene Peluso said. "We may have come up short, but the season they had was incredible and their fight today was excellent as it was all year."

"This is a group of winners, both as people and as players," Peluso continued. "There is nothing for this team and the players should hang their heads about."

First-year Matthew Pergola concluded his outstanding first season on Castle Point with a goal and an assist to bring his season point total to 88. Senior Jake Wright matched Pergola with a goal and an assist, while sophomore Shea Grant scored once and junior Joseph Grippo dished out an assist to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions.

Graduate student Ryan Leahy made 11 saves for the Ducks, while Chris Brandau stopped 13 shots to earn the victory for Dickinson.

"Today's game came down to some execution in the middle of the field and in both the offensive and defensive ends," Peluso commented. "We did sone great things at times, but in the end, hats off to Dickinson for getting the win."

After the teams traded possessions, Wright put the Ducks on the board first, beating Brandau for his 23rd goal of the season. The teams combined for just three goals in the opening period before Hughes scored twice in a 69-second span to put the Ducks back in front. 

Three different players scored over a three-minute stretch to give Dickinson a two-goal lead at halftime, but it was Stevens who came out strong at the start of the third quarter with goals from Savarese and Crowley drawing the Ducks even at six. Savarese ended the season with at least four points in each of his last seven games, while Crowley scored at least two goals in 16 of his 21 games as a Duck.

Crowley and Savarese scored consecutive goals as Stevens took a 9-8 lead with just over six minutes left in regulation. However, Dickinson scored three times in less than 60 seconds to take its largest lead of the game. Savarese scored on the power play with just over three minutes left, but the Red Devils claimed the ensuing faceoff and ran over 60 seconds off the clock before sophomore Nicolas Accardo stripped Will Ferrell to return possession to the Ducks.

With time winding down, Crowley fired wide and with the Red Devils closest to the ball, Dickinson reclaimed possession. After a successful clear and a timeout, senior Joseph Cawley caused a turnover to give the Ducks new life, but Crowley shot wide and Brandau turned aside Pergola's scoring chance to close out the game. Cawley finished with five caused turnovers as the Ducks forced 14 of Dickinson's 26 turnovers.

"I thought Cawley did a great job leading our defense and caused many turnovers," Peluso said. "I thought Bendis and Lesizza were great down low and Ryan Leahy played great and competed for us today just as he's done all year.

Savarese's final goal of the day as the Ducks finished 1 for 2 on the man advantage. Conversely, the Ducks didn't commit a penalty.

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