Both men’s and women’s lacrosse begin season with winning records

Both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams lost in their Empire 8 Conference Championship last spring. Both squads look to improve in their new conference, MAC Freedom, and capture a conference title. In order to get there, both teams need to get a fast-paced start and both certainly already have in this season.

Sitting at 3-2 (wins-losses), the men’s lacrosse team has played four out of their five games at home. Stevens began the season at home against Swarthmore College as junior Shawn Coulter netted three goals for Stevens and lead them to a 9-4 win.

Traveling away from home, Stevens hoped to notch a win against No. 18 ranked Dickinson College. Junior Ryan Gebhardt finished with three goals and three assists to round off the day. At the end of regulation, the game was tied at 12-12 before Dickinson got the win off a goal with two minutes left in overtime. This handed the Ducks a tough first loss of the season.

Stevens returned back home for three straight home games. Gebhardt scored a total of 14 goals and four assists over these three games and lead Stevens to two wins before playing against No. 1 Salisbury University on Wednesday, March 4.

Salisbury was a challenge as the Ducks fell 14-8. As the No. 1 ranked team, Salisbury proved a tough test and the Ducks even lead for the majority of the first half. In the end, Salisbury streaked away with 11 goals in the second half. These games gave the men’s lacrosse team a nice 3-2 record to start their season.

At 2-1 (wins-losses), the women’s lacrosse team only played three games and won both their home games. Their first game was an 11-10 victory at home over Montclair State University. Senior Kyra Bednarski scored six goals, dominating on the field.

In the next game, away from home, Bednarski netted another three goals in a 9-6 loss to Shenandoah University. Stevens out-shot Shenandoah 29-27 and looked impressive. Unfortunately, the goals just did not happen this time.

With a 9-6 win at home over Kean University, the Ducks were lead by freshman Maddie Schmidt, sophomore Maeve McGovern, and sophomore Gale Bennett. They each scored two goals. This win gave the Ducks a 2-1 record and a great start to the season.

The men’s lacrosse team play their next game away from home against Montclair State University on March 11. The women’s team will play at home against Rowan University this Saturday. Keep getting those wins, Ducks!