Springfield, Mass. – February 26, 2023 - The Springfield College men's lacrosse team was defeated by visiting Stevens, 13-5, in their home opener on Sunday afternoon. 

The win boosted Stevens record to 3-1 on the year, while the Pride dipped to 0-2.

Each team took 34 shots in the game and Springfield held a 37-28 advatage in ground balls.  Conor Tracy (Walpole, Mass.) netted two goals, Alek Turi (Glastonbury, Conn.) registered a goal and an assist, and Steven Betsch (Port Washington, N.Y.) won 16-of-22 on face-offs for the Pride.  Jackson Lane (Shrewsbury, Mass.) caused four turnovers and Gavin Carzello (Westfield, Mass.) picked up a game-high seven ground balls. 

For Stevens, Keegan Hughest scored five scores and tacked on an assist, while Jack Savarese tallied four goals and an assist. Ryan Leahy played 56 minutes in cage to earn the win as he made 12 saves.

The visitors opened up the game with four goals in the first quarter, including three in the opening 3:53, before Springfield broke into the scoring column when Turki connected with Mason Nocito (Mahopac, N.Y.) for a man-up strike at the 9:22 mark of the second. Stevens would add the only other goal of the quarter just over two minutes later to take a 5-1 lead into halftime.

The teams traded a pair of goals in the third, with Tracy and Turi each recording strikes less than two minutes part, only to have the Ducks score a goal in the waning seconds of the quarter to swing the momentum back in their favor.  Owning an 8-3 advantage heading into the fourth, Stevens pumped in three goals in the first five-plus minutes to have the lead balloon to 11-3.  Riley Burgmyer (Somers, Conn.) and Tracy added strikes in the final nine minutes to close out the scoring as the Ducks earned the 13-5 victory.  

Springfield will travel to take on Union next Saturday.

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