NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (May 11, 2024) – Senior Jack Savarese recorded his 44th hat trick to set a new program record for career goals as No. 15 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse held off Roanoke College 10-9 Saturday evening in a second round NCAA matchup at Christopher Newport's Jennings Family Stadium.

Sophomore Matthew Pergola matched Savarese with three goals and graduate student Dominick Visintin and senior Joseph Grippo each scored twice for Stevens, who won its 11th straight to improve to 18-2. The 18 victories tie a program record for wins in a single season, matching the 2018 and 2023 squads. Stevens has earned at least one NCAA victory in each of the program's eight appearances in the national tournament under 15th-year head coach Gene Peluso.

Wyatt Whitlow scored three goals and three different players each finished with two points, to lead Roanoke, who saw its season end with a 14-6 record. The one-goal victory was Stevens' first over Roanoke, although the Maroons still lead the all-time series 2-1.

After netting a pair of goals in the first period, Savarese helped Stevens take advantage of a D.J. Nolan 30-second offside penalty. Pergola began the sequence, firing a shot wide to the left side of the cage. Senior Keegan Hughes alertly picked up the ground ball and fired to Savarese, who was open in space in the left slot. Savarese took a quick step forward and rocketed a shot past Roanoke goalie Taylor Lewis and into the top-center of the net for his 55th goal of the season. The goal moved the Wilton, Connecticut native past program alumnus Ryan Gebhardt, who totaled 209 goals between 2018 and 2021.

Graduate student Kevin Holtby stopped 11 shots to secure the victory. The performance marked the Readington, New Jersey native's 10th contest with 10 or more saves, including all postseason contests. Lewis made 15 saves in a losing effort for Roanoke.

With the victory, Stevens advances to face No. 6 Christopher Newport Sunday evening. The third-round contest will mark the second all-time meeting between the programs. The hosting Captains defeated Cabrini University 20-6 earlier in the day, closing the book on Cabrini's men's lacrosse program as the university announced its closure last June.

The Rundown

• Stevens jumped out in front early, scoring consecutive goals in less than a minute to take an early 2-0 lead. Savarese broke through in the third minute and Pergola found the back of the net for the first time 47 seconds later.
• A Roanoke goal trimmed the Ducks' advantage to one, but Visintin and Savarese scored 90 seconds apart to send the teams into the second quarter with the Ducks holding a 4-1 lead.
• Consecutive goals by the Maroons opened scoring in the second half before Savarese's milestone marker reclaimed a two-goal lead. The teams would exchange two-goal spurts before Pergola netted his 60th of the season to give Stevens an 8-6 lead at halftime.
• Grippo scored on the man-advantage after the Ducks began the second half on a man-up opportunity after an illegal body check penalty in the final seconds of the first half. Whitlow had the answer for Roanoke before Visintin netted his second of the game to push the lead back to three.
• Roanoke scored the final two goals of the game to pull within one, but Holtby made three stops in the final four minutes to preserve the victory. Among the graduate student's saves was a stop of a scoring attempt by Noah Bell inside the final minute with Stevens short-handed. Graduate student Gavin Maute picked up the ground ball and Stevens was able to kill off the final 29 seconds of the game.

Top Performers

• Junior Mikey Whiteside joined sophomore Mac Waynick, first-year Jackson Penn and graduate student Chris Kirschner and Hughes in dishing out an assist.
• Penn also led the Ducks with eight wins in the faceoff circle. Senior Conner Park also won once, although Roanoke held a 13-9 margin in faceoff victories.
• Penn also topped Stevens in ground balls with seven as the Ducks picked up 30 on the evening.
• Stevens caused 13 of Roanoke's 17 turnovers. Juniors Bryan Creamer and Dominic Piselli joined sophomore Luke Lesizza in registering two caused turnovers.
• Although Stevens forced 17 Roanoke miscues, Stevens took relatively good care of the ball, finishing with 11 turnovers – the second-lowest total of the season.
• Among the national leaders in clearing percentage, Stevens converted 19 of its 21 clearing attempts, while also holding Roanoke to success 14 times on 20 attempts.
• Grippo and Savarese accounted for both of Stevens' man-up goals as the Ducks went 2 for 5 on the evening. The Ducks also killed off all four of their penalties.

For the Opponents

• Roanoke finished with a 61-44 edge in shots, although less than a third of the Maroons' shots (20) were on target.
• Jake Brader registered all 13 of Roanoke's wins in the faceoff circle. He also picked up a game-high eight ground balls.
• Bell was the only Maroon to score more than one goal.

Around the NCAA Tournament

• No. 1 Salisbury 27, Saint Joseph's (Conn.) 8
• No. 9 Swarthmore 14, No. 17 Endicott 8
• No. 3 RPI 15, St. Mary's (Md.) 5
• No. 14 Bowdoin 23, Grove City 9
• No. 4 Dickinson 10, Scranton 3
• No. 11 Middlebury 17, SUNY Geneseo 10
• No. 13 Lynchburg 24, Pfeiffer 8
• No.16 Washington & Lee 17, Lake Forest 4
• No. 8 Tufts 27, Illinois Wesleyan 9
• Stevenson 12, No. 12 Union (N.Y.) 11
• No. 2 RIT 23, No. 10 Babson 16
• No. 5 St. Lawrence 14, Plymouth State 6
• St. John Fisher 15, No. 7 Wesleyan (Conn.) 13
• No. 6 Christopher Newport 20, Cabrini 6

Up Next

• No. 15 Stevens will face No. 6 Christopher Newport Sunday evening at Jennings Family Stadium. The teams last met in 2015, with the Ducks edging the Captains 14-9 with alumni Dean Peluso and Ryan Gebhardt each finishing with four goals to power the offense. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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