Luke Cifuentes

Men's Lacrosse

Men's Lacrosse Once Again Unanimous Favorite in MAC Freedom Preseason Coaches' Poll

ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team was the unanimous favorite in the preseason Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom coaches' poll for the fifth consecutive season, as announced by the league office Thursday morning in the annual preseason vote conducted among the conference's eight head coaches.

Also for the fifth straight year, Stevens was joined by DeSales, Arcadia, and Misericordia in the top four, the only MAC Freedom teams to make the conference semifinals since 2022 – Misericordia at Stevens has been the No. 4 vs. No. 1 semifinal each of those four years. This year, DeSales earned 42 points to take second in the pre-season poll, with Arcadia (37 points) and Misericordia (32) taking third and fourth, respectively.

The entire poll can be found below:
Rank Team Points 1st Place Votes
1 STEVENS 49 7
2 DeSales 42
3 Arcadia 37
4 Misericordia 32
5 Lebanon Valley 24
6 FDU-Florham 20
7 King's 13
8 Delaware Valley 7

Stevens finished 2025 with as 15-4 record, including another perfect 7-0 mark in MAC Freedom play, extending its conference (regular season) win streak to 53 dating back to the team's days in the Empire 8; the Ducks have also won 11 straight postseason conference games.

Matthew Pergola (Attacker of the Year) and Luke Lesizza (Defenseman of the Year) each took home major honors for the third straight season, Hudson Rocheville was named Rookie of the Year, and Gene Peluso earned conference Coach of the Year for the fifth straight season.

Pergola posted a third straight 50+ goal campaign in 2025, notching 55 including 10 hat tricks, finishing the year in the Top 5 in program history in career goals and points.

Lesizza averaged just under two caused turnovers and just over two ground balls per game. He finished the season with 43 ground balls and 32 caused turnovers, the latter of which moving him into second place all-time on the program career leaderboard.
 
Rocheville came on strong late in the season, notching all four of his points, collecting all 11 of his ground balls, and causing all 11 turnovers in his final 11 appearances after recording no such marks in either of those metrics in his first six appearances.

Additional returners of note include Jackson Penn (2025 All-MAC Freedom First Team), Luke Cifuentes (2025 All-MACF), Will Giarrusso (2025 All-MACF Second Team), Adam DeCristofaro (16 goals in 19 games), Jack Tenaglia (17 points in 17 games), Joe Leone (16 points in 18 games), and Bastian Chorazykiewicz (.742 face-off percentage)

#AllRise

 
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Players Mentioned

Luke Cifuentes

#54 Luke Cifuentes

D
6' 2"
Sophomore
Will Giarrusso

#20 Will Giarrusso

M
5' 10"
Junior
Joe Leone

#51 Joe Leone

M
6' 0"
Junior
Luke Lesizza

#99 Luke Lesizza

D
5' 7"
Junior
Jackson Penn

#11 Jackson Penn

M
5' 10"
Sophomore
Matthew Pergola

#8 Matthew Pergola

A
5' 11"
Junior
Hudson Rocheville

#2 Hudson Rocheville

M
6' 0"
First-Year
Jack Tenaglia

#10 Jack Tenaglia

A
5' 7"
First-Year
Adam DeCristofaro

#28 Adam DeCristofaro

M
6' 1"
First-Year
Bastian Chorazykiewicz

#59 Bastian Chorazykiewicz

FO
5' 10"
First-Year

Players Mentioned

Luke Cifuentes

#54 Luke Cifuentes

6' 2"
Sophomore
D
Will Giarrusso

#20 Will Giarrusso

5' 10"
Junior
M
Joe Leone

#51 Joe Leone

6' 0"
Junior
M
Luke Lesizza

#99 Luke Lesizza

5' 7"
Junior
D
Jackson Penn

#11 Jackson Penn

5' 10"
Sophomore
M
Matthew Pergola

#8 Matthew Pergola

5' 11"
Junior
A
Hudson Rocheville

#2 Hudson Rocheville

6' 0"
First-Year
M
Jack Tenaglia

#10 Jack Tenaglia

5' 7"
First-Year
A
Adam DeCristofaro

#28 Adam DeCristofaro

6' 1"
First-Year
M
Bastian Chorazykiewicz

#59 Bastian Chorazykiewicz

5' 10"
First-Year
FO