Men’s Lacrosse Defeats Misericordia for Fourth Straight Win
DALLAS, Pa. (April 9, 2022) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team outscored Misericordia University 7-1 in the third quarter to defeat the Cougars 17-7 Saturday in a MAC Freedom matchup at Mangelsforf Field.
Senior Tyler Ryan had two goals and four assists and graduate student Ryan Caplis had three and two to lead Stevens, who won for the fourth straight time to improve to 6-6 on the year and to 4-0 in league play. The Ducks have won 27 straight regular season league contests and each of the three meetings between the programs.
Kyle and Ryan Vandenberg each had two goals to lead Misericordia, who dropped to 8-3 on the year and to 2-1 in league play. The Ducks' victory snapped the Cougars' two-game winning streak.
"Great win against a tough Misericordia team," head coach Gene Peluso said. "They are well coached and play tough. I thought our guys played well in the middle quarters. I am very proud of the job our guys did and now we prepare for FDU on Wednesday night."
Senior Michael Burns and sophomore Jack Savarese each scored four times for the Ducks, who saw nine different players reach the scoresheet, The four-goal effort for Savarese brought the Wilton, Connecticut native to 100 career points. Burns achieved the same milestone Wednesday evening.
"Great job by Savarese scoring his 100th point," Peluso said. "Pretty impressive feat for a sophomore."
Senior Brendan Sullivan finished with two goals and an assist and sophomore Mikey Whiteside had one of each. First-year Shea Grant scored once and junior Joe Cawley and senior Craig Stockfeder each dished out an assist to round out the Stevens scoring.
Sophomore Jake Zeyher stopped 15 shots to earn the victory in the cage for the Ducks, marking his fourth win of the year and fifth game with double-digit saves. Matt Coates made 12 saves in defeat for Misericordia. Chris Straub relieved Coates at the start of the final quarter and stopped four shots.
"Jake Zeyher was outstanding," Peluso commented. "He made great saves and cleared the ball, while also coming up with a few ground balls."
Although the Ducks held a 7-4 lead at the intermission, it was the third quarter that proved to be the difference between the teams. The Ducks outscored the Cougars 7-1 in the frame, scoring their seven goals on 15 shots (nine on-goal), while holding the home team to just four shots (two on-goal) and forcing seven turnovers. Caplis and Ryan combined for six points in the decisive period, with Caplis totaling two goals and two assists and Ryan finishing with one and one.
"The third quarter was excellent for us as we outscored them 7-1," Peluso said. "Tyler Ryan and Ryan Caplis did a great job today, especially in the third quarter."
Savarese capped off his day by scoring twice over a 1:13 span in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin of victory. In a game in which they never trailed, the Ducks scored three of the game's final five goals to put the contest out of reach.
After the teams traded goals in the opening quarter, Caplis put Stevens in front for good, netting his first of the day with just nine seconds left on the clock. The late heroics provided a nice close to the first quarter after Burns gave the Ducks a lead just 15 seconds into play.
Stevens registered eight caused turnovers on 19 Misericordia miscues. Senior Tom Conway paced the team with two caused turnovers, while Zeyher, Burns, Cawley, graduate students Sean Scadden and Owen Stempkovski, and senior Evan Eggleston each had one. Jake Miller and Micahel Shuman each had two CT's to lead Misericordia.
In addition to holding the Cougars to a season-low seven goals (and eight under their season average), the Ducks went 20 for 22 on clearing attempts, including a 9 for 9 performance across the second and third quarters. Misericordia went 17 for 23 on clears, although the Ducks held them to just 3 for 7 in the final quarter.
"David Bendis was an anchor for us on defense," Peluso said. "Not only did I love how he played on defense, but I also loved how he cleared the ball."
Stevens won 19 of the game's 29 faceoffs. Sophomore Conner Park won a career-best 15 times in the circle, while sophomore Russell Eberding won four times. Garrett Heidecker had all nine of Misericordia's faceoff wins,
The edge in faceoffs helped Stevens gain a commanding 47-29 advantage in ground balls. Park and Zeyher combined for 13 ground balls, while Eberding, Burns, Scadden, Stempkovski and Bendis each had three. Shuman scooped up five to lead Misericordia.
Stevens went 1 for 2 on extra-man opportunities, with Savarese's third-quarter marker accounting for the Ducks' power-play goal. Misericordia went 1 for 5, with Michael Kilgallon's fourth-quarter goal coming on the man-advantage.
Up Next: Men's Lacrosse returns home to host FDU-Florham on Apr. 13 in a MAC Freedom contest at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. The Ducks have won all five meetings with the Devils since 2000. Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.
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