HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 4, 2024) - Graduate student Kevin Holtby made 16 saves and picked up a ground ball as the No. 14/13 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team defeated #2 DeSales 15-7 to win the MAC Freedom championship Saturday afternoon.

Holtby was named the championship MVP for his performance. Head coach Gene Peluso also earned his 200th win at Stevens with the victory.

The win improves the Ducks' record to 17-2 and clinches the programs fourth-straight MAC Freedom crown. Stevens has won the conference tournament every year since joining the MAC Freedom back in 2020. It is the second-straight year the Ducks have taken down DeSales in the championship game, winning by a combined 19 goals across the two games. The Ducks will head into the NCAA Tournament on a 10-game winning streak. Stevens is now 8-0 all-time against the Bulldogs. DeSales finishes the season 11-7.

DeSales scored seven seconds into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Stevens would end up tying the game at the 12:38 mark, as graduate student Dominick Visintin fired in a goal. Shortly after the Bulldogs went up 2-1, sophomore Matthew Pergola tied things up on the man-advantage on a dish from senior Joseph Grippo. That would kick start what would be a 5-0 run spanning two quarters. Junior Shea Grant, senior Jack Savarese, and Pergola each found the back of the net before the end of the first as the Ducks went ahead 5-2 after one. To start the second, junior Tommy Robertozzi scored his first of the game at the 11:52 mark to push the lead to four. DeSales finally ended their drought with 9:48 on the clock, but the Ducks quickly answered as they scored eight seconds after the ensuing faceoff. First-year Jackson Penn took it the distance for the tally. Just over three minutes later, Pergola recorded his third of the game on an assist from sophomore Mac Waynick. Grippo and Savarese then linked up for the Ducks' ninth goal of the game to give them a six-goal advantage. Stevens maintained the 9-3 lead at the half.

Nine seconds into the second half, Grippo scored off an assist from Penn to make it 10-3. Just over a minute later, Stevens scored twice in a 31 second span, giving the Ducks a 12-3 advantage. It took almost eight minutes to find another goal in the game as Grippo fired home his 54th of the season to put Stevens ahead 10. DeSales got one back late in the third to make it 13-4 Stevens after three. To start the fourth, the Bulldogs put up three goals in a row in just over three minutes of play to get back to within six. The deficit would be too much to overcome, as Savarese and Pergola each scored down the stretch, as the Ducks won their fourth-straight MAC Freedom championship.

Top Performers

• Pergola scored four goals.
• Grippo scored three goals and tallied an assist.
• Savarese recorded two goals and two assists.
• Robertozzi tallied two goals.
• Four Ducks had a goal and an assist.
• Sophomore Luke Lesizza caused five turnovers.
• Penn picked up seven ground balls while Lesizza recorded six.
• Holtby improved to 17-2.
• Stevens went 15-26 in the faceoff circle.

The Opponent

• Nate Perry scored four goals.
• Beau Neff had two assists.
• Three Bulldogs each scored once.
• Chase Bowman caused two turnovers.
• Bowman and T.J. Lowe each picked up five ground balls.
• Lowe (11-7) made 17 saves.

Coach's Comments

• "I am proud about of how we played today to capture our fourth consecutive MAC Freedom conference championship. I thought Kevin Holtby was excellent for us today and the defense of group of Luke Lesizza, Bryan Creamer and Mac Waynick were awesome, but when the defense broke down, Kevin did an excellent job keeping DeSales from scoring."
• "I love the balanced scoring we got from Shea Grant, Dominic Visintin, Thomas Robertozzi and Chris Kirschner in the midfield. I was also impressed with the day that Jackson Penn had at the face off X - 66% winning percentage and a goal and an assist is a great day of production."
• "I thought Luke was a standout defensively with a great amount of caused turnovers and a good amount of ground balls."
• "I thought it was a full team effort today to beat a very strong DeSales team. We are excited to see what is next for us."

Around the MAC Freedom

• No teams in action.

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament with the win today. The team now will wait for the selection show, which is tomorrow night at 9 p.m., to determine their next opponent. Links for live stats and video for the NCAA Tournament games will be posted to stevensducks.com.