No. 14 Stevens falls to No. 1 RIT in NCAA Third Round
Charles O'Brien
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (May 12, 2018) – Junior Eric Radbourne matched a career-high with four goals but No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Lacrosse was unable to overcome an early three-goal deficit and fell to No. 1 Rochester Institute of Technology 17-9 Saturday evening in an NCAA Third Round game played on RIT's Turf Field.
Senior Tommy Dawson had a goal and two assists and junior Max Bailey added three points for the Ducks, who saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end. Stevens finished the season with an 18-3 record, setting a new program mark for wins in a season. Bailey, named the Empire 8 Conference's Player of the Year earlier in the week, finished the season with 97 points, to finish second on the program's all-time single-season scoring list, while Dawson concludes his distinguished career with 117 goals and 56 assists to finish among the top-10 players in program history in goals scored.
Aidan Milburn led RIT with five goals and Ryan Tandy had a goal and four assists as the Tigers remained perfect at 20-0. The top-ranked Tigers improved to 7-1 all-time against Stevens. RIT was a member of the Empire 8 Conference before departing for the Liberty League in 2012. The Tigers averaged 24.5 goals over their two previous games and were held under their season average.
"I was proud of the second half that our team played," said head coach
Gene Peluso. "I thought we did a great job when we possessed the ball. The key was trying to clear the ball and possess it."
"RIT does a great job with smothering in the ride and in their groundball play," Peluso continued. "I thought when we settled down, we played good lacrosse and created some good looks."
Freshman Ryan Gebhardt had a goal and an assist and sophomore Brendan Monteleone and senior John Boutureira each found the back of the net to round out the Stevens scoring. Gebhardt, the E8 Rookie of the Year, finished his inaugural season on Castle Point with a team-leading 55 goals, matching Hall-of-Famer J.R. Maehler for third all-time on the single-season goals list. Boutureira, the 2018 E8 Tournament's Most Valuable Player ends his career with 99 goals and 14 assists.
The seven-member Class of 2018 concludes its four-year stretch in Hoboken with 55 wins, an Empire 8 Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The senior class prided itself on protecting the DeBaun Athletic Complex totaling a 32-8 mark in games played on campus, while posting a 26-6 record in E8 play. The team concluded the season with a program-record 334 goals.
"I am most impressed with the leadership, mentorship and determination of our senior class," Peluso reflected. "They are a group of young men that should be proud of themselves. They will be successful people and professionals in the near and distant future. Our 18 wins this season is the most in any single season at Stevens and our seniors led this team to a conference championship and many wins over their four-year careers."
RIT outshot Stevens 42-25, including a 29-18 edge in shots on goal. Junior Carson White made 12 saves for Stevens. Walker Hare posted eight stops for RIT, while Holden McDonald made one save.
Stevens went 13-of-17 on clear attempts, while the hosting Tigers were a perfect 18-for-18. RIT held a 22-5 advantage in faceoff wins, which directly led to a 39-18 edge in ground balls. Junior Daniel Crotty recorded a season-high five caused turnovers to lead all players. The Charlotte, North Carolina native also matched RIT's Nate Farrell with a game-high five ground balls. Junior Nicholas Carnovale recorded three of Stevens' five wins in the faceoff 'X'.
RIT took advantage on an uncharacteristic seven Duck penalties to record four 'Up' goals. Stevens went 1-for-4 with the man-advantage.
The top-ranked team in Division II came out strong on its home field, scoring three goals in the first 4:32 to grab an early advantage. Boutureira opened the scoring for Stevens with his 42nd of the year to pull Stevens within two. The Tigers added to their lead with four goals in a six-minute span to take a six-goal lead lead near the end of the opening quarter. Bailey's 26th of the season drew Stevens within five at the end of the first.
RIT continued to work its offense in the second quarter, leading to a pair of goals to increase the home team's lead. Radbourne scored his first of the game to return the deficit to six, but a pair of goals in 30 seconds extended RIT lead back to eight. Monteleone scored on the powerplay near the end of the first half and Radbourne opened second-half scoring with his second of the game to close the margin to six. The Ducks held RIT scoreless for the first 9:49 of the third, but Shawn Nally and Millburn scored consecutive goals with the man-advantage to thwart any Stevens' comeback hopes.
Dawson and Gebhardt scored less than a minute apart in the final moments of the third to again bring Stevens within six, but RIT scored the first three goals of the final period to put the game out of reach. Radbourne recorded two of the game's markers three goals to provide the final margin.