HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 6, 2023) – Graduate student Kevin Crowley had six goals and an assist as No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse defeated DeSales University 26-15 Saturday to win the MAC Freedom championship on a picture-perfect afternoon at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. 

First-year Matthew Pergola and junior Keegan Hughes each finished with five goals and an assist for the Ducks, who won their 10th straight to improve to 17-2 and tie the 2012 squad for the most wins in any single season in the program's lengthy history. Stevens improved to 7-0 in the MAC Freedom postseason in claiming its third straight league crown and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berth. The Ducks are the first MAC Freedom program to capture three straight conference championships since Eastern won five in a row from 2012 to 2016 (it is worth noting that 2012 was the first year the conference split men's lacrosse into Commonwealth and Freedom divisions for men's lacrosse).

"We told the players that we are proud of their successes in conference and that we defended the conference championship," head coach Gene Peluso said. "17-2 is something to be proud of, but winning a conference championship is special!"

Sophomore Nicolas Accardo was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after totaling three goals and three assists with eight ground balls across the Ducks' two tournament victories. 

"Nick Accardo earned MVP honors for all the plays he made on both ends of the field," Peluso said. "He came up with big assists and goals, played stout defense and is a threat as a defender and a transition midfielder. It seems like he has been a pacesetter for us in the last few games and today, he was excellent."

T.J. Herron scored three times and dished out four assists to pace DeSales, who saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end in dropping to 10-8. The last two defeats suffered by the Bulldogs came at the hands of the Ducks, who improved to 9-3 in the all-time series.

Junior Jack Savarese had two goals and three assists as 14 different Ducks recorded at least one point for the second straight game. Sophomores Bryan Creamer and Shea Grant each scored twice, while Accardo and senior Jake Wright each contributed a goal and three assists. Accardo has a nine-game point streak, while Wright has at least one point in every game this season. Graduate student Carter Haskel and sophomore Larson Cronk each scored once, while seniors Joseph Cawley and Joseph DeGuida joined junior Joseph Grippo in handing out one assist. Senior Trevor Carroll dished out two assists for his sixth career multi-point game to round out the Ducks' offensive contributions. 

"I thought possession and offense was key today," Peluso shared. "The game we got from our offense was impressive and they put up big numbers today. Crowley was great, as were Pergola and Savarese, and Hughes and Wright controlled the midfield play."

Graduate student Ryan Leahy made four saves to earn the victory. Junior Jake Zeyher joined sophomores Cooper Foote and Justin Gold in sharing time in the cage in the fourth quarter. Quinten Lyons made 19 saves in a losing effort for DeSales.

"It was good to get some minutes for our four goalies and some reserves defensive players," Peluso commented. "We let up sone goals near the end, but we felt like it was important to give those opportunities. We will need to focus defensively moving into the NCAA's."

It was DeSales that got on the board first, scoring 50 seconds into the contest on a goal by Nate Perry. However, the Ducks responded eight seconds later when Creamer took the ensuing faceoff the length of the field and beat Lyons for his sixth goal of the year. Hughes and Adams exchanged goals before Grant converted a Pergola pass for his 15th marker of the season to put the Ducks in front for good.

Following Grant's strike, the Ducks scored four more times to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Crowley scored twice during the sequence, with goals from Savarese and Pergola closing out the quarter. Pergola, who moved his season total to 64, is nine away from matching the program's single-season goal-scoring record. Pergola and Hughes completed their respective hat tricks in the second quarter, combining for all five of Stevens' goals in the period. Maria beat the second-quarter buzzer by scoring on the power play to send the teams into halftime with Stevens holding a 12-5 lead.

Adams scored for the second time to open scoring in the second half, but the third quarter belonged to Stevens as the Ducks scored 10 times on 14 shots on-goals to break the game open. Eight different players found the back of the net during the game-changing sequence, with Hughes leading the efforts with two. 

Crowley scored 53 seconds into the fourth quarter to extend the Ducks' scoring run to 11, only to see DeSales score seven of the next eight goals. Haskel and Crowley scored consecutive goals less than a minute apart to push the lead back to 13 with a pair of Bulldog goals late in the final period to provide the Ducks' final margin of victory. Crowley's seven-goal performance pushed the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native over the 200-career point plateau.

The Ducks won 29 of the game's 45 faceoffs. Junior Conner Park keyed the Ducks' efforts, winning a game-high 19 times in the circle. Sophomore Andrew Muller won eight times, while Creamer added three. Zach Broomall led DeSales with 13 faceoff wins. The advantage in the circle also helped the Ducks gain a 63-39 edge in ground balls. Park picked up nine to lead the Ducks, while Creamer and Cawley scooped up eight and six, respectively, as 20 different players picked up at least one. Broomall picked up a game-high 10 to lead DeSales.

"Again, our faceoff play from Park, Bryan Creamer and Accardo was excellent," Peluso shared.

Stevens caused 10 of DeSales' 24 turnovers. Cawley and Haskel joined senior David Bendis and first-year Luke Lesizza each caused a team-high two, while DeGuida and Pergola each had one. While Stevens was able to successfully disrupt DeSales, they were taking good care of the ball, committing a season-low 10 turnovers.

Stevens went 20 of 23 on clears, while holding DeSales to success on 18 of its 24 attempts.

Crowley netted a pair of power-play goals as Stevens went 2 for 4 on extra-man opportunities. DeSales finished 2 for 7.

The Ducks crossed the 20-goal plateau for the fourth straight game and for the 11th time in 2023. The average margin of victory in the Ducks' three MAC Freedom titles is 10.

Up Next: No. 20 Men's Lacrosse awaits its NCAA placement, which will come in Sunday night's selection show.

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