MADISON, N.J. (March 15, 2024) - Sophomore Matthew Pergola scored four goals while junior Mikey Whiteside scored three as the No. 17/16 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team defeated Haverford 18-12 in a non-conference contest Friday afternoon. The match was the first semifinal of the Leanos Cup hosted by Drew.

The Ducks win their fifth-straight game as they improve to 5-1. This was the Ducks' first neutral site game of the season, as they improved to 1-0 outside of Hoboken. Stevens is now 7-1 all-time against Haverford, including winning the last two. Haverford falls to 3-4. Rhodes will play Drew in the other semifinal match later tonight.

Haverford opened with the first two goals of the game to take an early 2-0 lead. Whiteside got the Ducks on the board with his unassisted goal at the 9:52 mark to trim the deficit. Haverford would score next a few minutes later, but it was smooth sailing for the Ducks after that. Stevens closed the first quarter on a 4-0 run across the final 3:35 to lead 5-3. Senior Keegan Hughes scored the first goal on the run with graduate student Dominick Visintin assisting. 16 seconds later, first-year Jackson Penn found Pergola after winning the faceoff, and Pergola buried it to tie the score. Senior Joseph Grippo and Whiteside capped off the first for Stevens. The success would boil over into the second for Stevens, as senior Jack Savarese scored at the 13:40 mark to double the Ducks' advantage. Just over a minute later, Whiteside tallied his hat trick. Stevens would continue to dominate play, as Hughes and sophomore Joe Leone each scored unassisted goals, putting Stevens in front 9-3. The run would reach nine unanswered after junior Connor Gabilanes scored his first career goal on an assist from Savarese. The Fords would score the next two, but Stevens answered with two more before the break, as graduate student Chris Kirschner and Savarese each found the back of the next, as the Ducks took a 12-5 lead into half.

After Haverford scored the first goal of the second half, Stevens responded less than a minute later with a tally from Grippo to make the score 13-6. The Fords would put up the next two to get within five, but Pergola earned an unassisted goal with 7:09 remaining in the quarter to put Stevens back up six. The Ducks would go scoreless for the rest of the third, with the Fords adding three more, as Stevens led 14-11 after three. To start the fourth, neither team would score for the first five minutes until Kirschner put the ball in the net to put Stevens back up four. The two teams would go almost another five minutes scoreless, as junior Tommy Robertozzi added an insurance goal on an assist from junior Shea Grant with 5:03 remaining. In the final 1:27 of the game, Pergola scored twice while the Fords added another, as the Ducks secured an 18-12 win.

Top Performers

• Pergola tallied four points while Whiteside added three.
• Hughes and Savarese each scored twice and added an assist.
• Grippo and Kirschner each added two goals.
• Leone had a goal and an assist.
• Six other Ducks recorded a point.
• Junior Nicolas Accardo caused a team-high three turnovers.
• Sophomore Will Giarrusso picked up a career-high eight ground balls, while Penn added seven.
• Graduate student Kevin Holtby (5-1) made a season-high 19 saves.

The Opponent

• Matt Richards scored seven goals and added an assist.
• Reid Tietjen had two goals and four assists.
• The Fords only caused three turnovers.
• Teddy Carlin secured eight ground balls.
• Jacob Abraham (3-4) made 26 saves.

Around the MAC Freedom

• Immaculata 11, FDU-Florham 10 F/WED
• Delaware Valley 6, Gwynedd Mercy 15 F/WED
• Lebanon Valley 6, Susquehanna 16 F/WED
• Misericordia 16, Marywood 2 F/THUR

Up Next: The Ducks will play in the championship of the Leanos Cup on Sunday. If Rhodes defeats Drew later tonight, the game will be at 11 a.m. If Drew defeats Rhodes, the game will be at 3 p.m. Links for live stats and video are posted to stevensducks.com