Amherst, Mass. – Senior Emerico Vespucci and sophomore Luke Carey scored less than three minutes apart over the final 10 minutes of regulation, giving the Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team a 2-0 win over Muhlenberg in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Vespucci had the first shot of the match for Stevens (12-3-4) in the fourth minute from just inside the 18-yard box, but his attempt was denied by Muhlenberg (12-4-6) keeper Ben Mulford. Dylan Maund had a look from distance about 30 seconds later, but Mulford denied that chance as well.

In the 10^th, Vespucci struck the crossbar with a lunging left-footed strike that wound up as Stevens' final shot until the final 20 seconds of the half.

Muhlenberg registered seven shots in the opening 45, though only one went on-target, and was denied by Stevens' keeper Guillermo Castaneda-Chang.

Despite nine more shots, including an open net opportunity deflected away by a sliding Dylan Maund in the 58^th minute, the scoreless draw continued into the final 10 minutes of the match before the Stevens attack finally broke through.

First, it was Vespucci, who took advantage of a mistake from Mulford who'd attempted to cut off a cross from the left off the foot of Luca Campbell, putting away his fifth goal of the year for a 1-0 duck lead.

Barely two minutes later, it was Campbell again in the middle of the action, setting up Luke Carey with a cross from the right, and the sophomore did not miss, closing the door on any thoughts of a Muhlenberg comeback.

For good measure, Castaneda-Chang made one final save in the 88^th, sealing his sixth clean sheet of the year.

Post-Match Press Conference with Head Coach Dale Jordan, senior Emerico Vespucci, and senior Luca Campbell.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Stevens improved to 6-4-5 (plus three penalty kick victories) in the NCAA Tournament since 2017.
• Stevens has advanced out of the first round in each of their five NCAA Tournament appearances under Dale Jordan.
• Vespucci's goal gave him a career-high 12 points, surpassing the 11 he had in 2022.
• With the win, the Ducks have now recorded at least one four-match win streak in every season since at least 2002.

FROM THE FIELD (Jordan)
"That was one of the best NCAA games I've been apart of! Both teams competed and all credit to Muhlenberg for giving us plenty of tactical problems - the group showed so much heart and grit to get the result today - we are excited to spend more time together and play against national powerhouse and last season's national finalists tomorrow."

UP NEXT
Stevens will face Amherst in the Second Round at 1 pm tomorrow. The teams have met four times before, three coming in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2008 national semifinal won by the Ducks.