DALLAS, Pa. (April 6, 2024) – Senior Joseph Grippo finished with three goals and two assists to cross the 100-career point mark as No. 13 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse scored the first five goals of the game in defeating Misericordia University 14-6 Saturday in a MAC Freedom game at Mangelsdorf Field. 

Sophomore Matthew Pergola and senior Keegan Hughes each scored twice, while also adding an assist for the Ducks, who won their second straight to improve to 9-2 on the year and to 1-0 in the MAC Freedom. Saturday's victory marked the eighth straight season that the Ducks opened league play with a victory and extended the Ducks' conference winning streak to 40, dating back to 2017. The victory was the 321st of head coach Gene Peluso's career, moving him past Denison's Mike Caravana (1991-2005, 2009-2021) and into sole possession of 17th place in career Division III coaching victories. Among active DIII coaches, Peluso ranks fifth. 

Connor Bevan had three goals and an assist and Brendan Stanley added a goal and an assist for Misericordia, who dropped to 5-6 on the year and to 0-1 in league play. The Cougars have dropped three of their last four. 

Graduate student Kevin Holtby made eight saves to earn his ninth victory. Senior Jake Zeyher relieved Holtby and played the final seven minutes. Chris Dindino stopped 20 shots in a losing effort for Misericordia.  

The Rundown

• On the Ducks' first possession of the day, Hughes snapped a shot past Dindino to give the Ducks an early lead. Grippo would follow with his first of the day less than two minutes later as the Ducks scored on four of their first five shots of the game to take early control of the game. 
• Senior Jack Savarese found the back of the net to push the lead to three and first-year Jackson won the ensuing faceoff and took it through the heart of Misericordia's defense for his first career goal. 
• Junior Mikey Whiteside opened scoring in the second quarter with the first of his two markers on the day. Misericordia was able to get on the board 90 seconds later as Connor Gundersen beat Holtby to make the score 5-1. Holtby made four saves in the opening period.
• Junior Tommy Robertozzi successfully converted a power-play opportunity to push the lead back to five. The Plainfield, New Jersey native was the fifth Duck to finish with two or more goals. 
• After taking a five-goal lead into halftime, Grippo netted his second of the day to open the scoring in the third quarter. The marker was also the Kinnelon, New Jersey native's milestone point. Stanley followed with his lone marker of the day for Misericordia, only for Hughes to find the back of the net later in the frame to push the advantage back to five. The teams combined for three goals in the third period, making it the lowest scoring period of the day. 
• Grippo and Robertozzi scored consecutive goals to start the fourth quarter and Pergola added a pair of goals a minute apart as the Ducks broke the game open. Junior Shea Grant beat Dindino for the final Duck goal of the day. Misericordia scored twice in the final 195 seconds to produce the final margin of victory.

Top Performers

• Penn led an outstanding effort in the faceoff circle. The Ducks won 19 of the game's 23 faceoffs, with Penn winning nine times (only losing once on a violation before winning nine straight), while sophomore Will Giarrusso went 10 for 11.
• Stevens picked up 44 ground balls – the third highest total for the team. Giarrusso led the efforts with seven, while Penn had six. 
• Juniors Dominic Piselli and Nicolas Accardo joined sophomore Luke Lesizza in causing two turnovers each. 
• Graduate student Dominick Visintin dished out an assist to round out the Ducks' scoring.
• Stevens went 26 for 30 on clears, including 14 for 16 in the first half. 
• The Ducks killed off all three of their penalties.

For the Opponents

• Trey Stasse had all four of Misericordia's faceoff wins and also finished with a game-high four caused turnovers, while also picking up a team-high four ground balls.

Around the MAC Freedom 

• Messiah 21, Lebanon Valley 10 (F/Mar. 28)
• Delaware Valley 24, Centenary (N.J.) 5 (F/Mar. 30)
• Misericordia 17, Albright 13 (F/Mar. 30)
• Farmingdale State 15, FDU-Florham 11 (F/Mar. 30)
• Delaware Valley 8, Mount Saint Vincent 5 (F/Apr. 2)
• DeSales 21, Delaware Valley 2 (F/Apr. 5)
• Lebanon Valley 15, King's 5
• Arcadia 21, FDU-Florham 4

Coach's Comments

• "I thought we had a handful of guys that really drove our "bus" today! Joe Grippo was very efficient offensively; he shot the ball well and had a couple of great assists. Plus, he has really established himself as a leader on the offensive end!"
• "I thought our faceoff duo of Will Giarrusso and Jackson Penn were excellent again today. Both only lost one faceoff the entire game and were well over 90% as a pair. They picked up a bunch of ground balls and Jackson scoring his first career goal was awesome."
• "Defensively, I thought Kevin Holtby was sharp and turned away some early looks. Nick Accardo had a great game in the middle of the field, as did Dominic Piselli."
• "We are happy to get a win against an always tough and gritty Misericordia team." – head coach Gene Peluso

Up Next

• No. 13 Stevens continues conference play on April 10, heading to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to take on King's. The Ducks have won all three meetings between the programs, scoring exactly 25 goals in each contest. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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