HOBOKEN, N.J. – Matthew Pergola, Tommy Robertozzi, and Joseph Grippo combined for 15 goals for the No. 8 Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team in an 18-8 win over SUNY Oneonta Saturday afternoon in the Ducks' home opener at DeBaun Athletic Complex.

All three of the Ducks' leading scorers set new season highs: Pergola with six goals and eight points, Robertozzi with six points, Grippo with five goals. Finlay MacKnight handed out three assists and Tyler Holland & Thomas Sabatino each notched their first goals of the season for Stevens (5-0).

Defensively, Dominic Piselli caused a career-high four turnovers, while the trio of Danny D'Angelo, Luke Cifuentes, and Luke Lesizza caused two each. Jackson Penn won nine of 17 faceoffs and grabbed a team-high six ground balls, Will Giarrusso won three faceoffs and scooped four ground balls. Cooper Foote finished with nine saves in net and added three ground balls.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Red Dragons struck first, but Grippo answered, tying the score at one with 9:30 left in the first quarter. After nearly four scoreless minutes from both sides, Robertozzi started a three-goal spurt in a 1:26 span, capped by two from Pergola, shooting the Ducks in front 4-1, drawing a SUNY Oneonta timeout. The visitors got a goal back, but Shea Grant pushed the margin back to three with a goal in the closing seconds of the quarter.

Grippo scored man-up less than 90 seconds into the second quarter, but the Red Dragons pulled back within one, 6-5 at the 10:03 mark. Robertozzi kept the Ducks in front with back-to-back goals, Pergola made it a four-goal game & completed his hat trick in the process, and Grippo got the Ducks to 10 with just under two minutes left, the Red Dragons pulling within 10-6 at the half.

Stevens dominated the third quarter, out-shooting the Red Dragons 19-1, winning the ground ball battle 7-2, and forcing eight turnovers while committing just three. Grippo and Sabatino found the back of the net for the Ducks, who extended their lead to 12-7 heading to the fourth.

After the two sides traded a goal apiece in the opening 90 seconds of the final period, Stevens put its foot on the gas and blew the doors off over the final 10 minutes. Pergola and Robertozzi combined for three more goals less than two minutes apart, Holland scored off a Pergola assist, then the reigning two-time Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Attacker of the Year capped his day with goal number six with just over two minutes left.

Inside the Box Score

• The Ducks' 18 goals were a season high and the 10-goal margin of victory matched the largest of the season (Maritime, 17-7, on February 26)
• Stevens is now 5-0 for the first time since the 2013 season.
• The Ducks knocked off the Red Dragons for the fourth straight season, outscoring them 68-25 during that winning streak.

Up Next: Stevens' four-game home-stand continues next Saturday, March 15, against Liberty League power Union College at 12 p.m.

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