HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 1, 2024) - Senior Joseph Grippo scored five goals and had two assists as the No. 14/13 and #1 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team defeated #4 Misericordia 17-4 in the MAC Freedom semifinals Wednesday night.

The win improves the Ducks' record to 16-2 and advances the Ducks to the MAC Freedom Championship game. Stevens has won the conference tournament every year since joining the MAC Freedom back in 2020. Stevens is now 8-0 all-time against the Cougars. Misericordia finishes the season 9-9.

Stevens scored less than a minute into the game as sophomore Matthew Pergola fired the Ducks in front. Less than a minute later, graduate student Chris Kirschner doubled the Ducks' advantage. A few quiet minutes would pass from there, until the Cougars got on the board at the 8:51 mark to make it a 2-1 game. The Ducks would struggle to score across the next five minutes, as they had three shots blocked and two saved. Senior Jack Savarese was able to break the Duck drought at the 2:38 mark on a feed from junior Tommy Robertozzi to make it 3-1. Senior Joseph Grippo added another before the end of the quarter as the Ducks led 4-1. The second quarter started with four scoreless minutes, but the home side then went off for a flurry of goals, as Grippo, Chris Kirschner, and junior Shea Grant each tallied a goal in 2:06 of game time to put Stevens up 7-1. That score would hold for the final 8:51 of the quarter as the Ducks were up six at the break.

Motivated after halftime, senior Keegan Hughes buried a goal 41 seconds into the third to put Stevens up seven. Savarese then recorded his second of the game a few minutes later with Chris Kirschner assisting. The Cougars scored their second of the game at the 9:27 mark, but the Ducks closed out the quarter with goals from Grippo and Savarese as they led 11-2 after three. To start the fourth, Stevens went up 10 as Pergola scored just 15 seconds in on a man-advantage. Hughes then doubled his total a few minutes later as the Ducks took a 13-2 advantage. Misericordia was then forced to call a timeout after Grippo put up his 50th tally of the year at the 11:09 mark. From there Stevens would continue to pile it on, as Grippo bagged another one with 9:24 to go. Junior Connor Gabilanes scored his first of the game at the 6:43 mark on an assist from first-year Tyler Holland. Despite the Cougars scoring next, Stevens got it right back with a goal from first-year Connor Moore. The lead was too much for the Cougars to try to overcome, as the Ducks would secure their place in the MAC Freedom Championship game.

Top Performers

• Grippo totaled seven points.
• Savarese had three goals and two assists.
• Pergola, Hughes, and Chris Kirschner each produced two goals and an assist.
• Seven other Ducks picked up a point in the outing.
• Sophomore Luke Lesizza caused three turnovers.
• First-year Jackson Penn and sophomore Will Giarrusso each corralled eight ground balls.
• Graduate student Kevin Holtby (16-2) made ten saves.
• Stevens went 22-24 in the faceoff circle.

The Opponent

• Michael Killagon scored twice.
• Jared Pelliccione scored twice.
• Connor Bevan had an assist.
• Bevan caused four turnovers.
• Trey Stasse picked up five ground balls.
• Chris Dindino (9-8) made 20 saves.

Around the MAC Freedom

• #3 Arcadia vs. #2 DeSales 7 p.m.

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse will host the MAC Freedom championship on Saturday. Game time is set for 1 p.m. and opponent is TBD. Links for live stats and video will be posted to stevensducks.com