In their victory against Arcadia University on April 12, No. 20 Stevens men’s lacrosse set a record for goals in a game and claimed a 29-9 victory.
The team’s performance was highlighted by first-year Matthew Pergola who matched a program record with nine goals and 13 points. Junior Jack Savarese also had a career-high eight points, and senior Jake Wright finished with two goals and five assists for the Ducks. Both players combined for the Ducks’ first 10 goals of the game.
Stevens was off to a hot start, scoring three goals in a 40-second span to take an early 3-0 lead. The Ducks did not take their feet off the gas, scoring five times in a 4:30 stretch and extending their lead to 10.
Arcadia’s Billy Burton had three goals and an assist to lead the Knights, but that was not enough to outshine the Ducks. Arcadia dropped to 4-7 on the year and 3-1 in the MAC Freedom.
Stevens Men’s Lacrosse continued to dominate in league play. The Ducks carried their momentum into Saturday in their game against King’s College (PA). Scoring exactly 25 goals for the third straight meeting, Stevens took their fifth straight victory over Kings College to remain undefeated in the MAC Freedom Conference.
Junior Joseph Grippo had a season-high eight points, and graduate student Kevin Crowley posted his ninth hat trick of the season. Savarese and sophomore Blake Creamer each added three points for the Ducks as well. All five goalies played time for the Ducks, with graduate student Ryan Leahy starting and making a pair of saves to earn the victory. Sophomore Cooper Foote and junior Jake Zeyher combined for three saves, as did the sophomore duo of Justin Gold and Quinton Smith.
King’s College’s Ryan Barnes scored twice, but his efforts were not enough, as Stevens forced King’s into 26 turnovers and held the Monarchs’ clears to 12 of 26. The Ducks remain among the nation’s leaders in clearing percentage. As for the Monarchs, they fell to 0-11 on the year and 0-4 in conference play.
The Ducks won their fifth straight, improving to 12-2 on the year and 5-0 in the MAC Freedom. Up next for the Ducks, they travel to Williamsport, PA, to take on Lycoming College on Saturday, April 22. Stevens looks to remain undefeated in conference play as the Ducks have won all four meetings between the programs.
