Montclair, NJ (3/26/05) - Juniors JOHN DELLA PESCA and JAMES KOLE each scored five goals as the Montclair State men's lacrosse opened their Knickerbocker Conference schedule with a 22-10 rout of Manhattanville at Sprague Field on Saturday.

The host Red Hawks improved to 3-4 overall (1-0 KLC) with their second straight win, while the visiting Valiants fell to 1-4 (0-1 KLC) on the year. Today marked Montclair State's sixth straight win over Manhattanville dating back to the 2000 season, while the 22 goals were the most scored by MSU in a single game since a 21-5 victory over Kean University back on April 9, 2003. Senior midfielder Jim Seymour scored six goals for Manhattanville today on just seven shots to pace the Valiants offensively.

Senior attack SEAN PEKARSKY opened the scoring for Montclair just 3:13 into the game with his first of three goals on the afternoon, and Kole helped stake MSU to a 4-2 lead after 15 minutes with two goals of his own. Della Pesca then tallied four goals in the second period, including the last three goals of the session in a span of 1:44. He scored his fourth goal with just one second remaining before halftime to put the Red Hawks up by an 11-5 count at the break. Kole then added two more goals in the third quarter as MSU took an 18-7 lead, before adding a goal and an assist in the final 15 minutes to cap a seven-point day.

Sophomore midfielder EVAN WEHMEYER and freshman attack BRYAN KLIMCHAK finished with two goals each for MSU, while junior attack Andy Nagy connected twice for Manhattanville, which was outshot, 51-31, on the afternoon while going 4-for-15 in man-up situations. MSU was 3-for-12 with the extra man while claiming 22-of-32 face-offs and 51-of-78 ground balls, and making good on 41-of-44 clearing attempts. Senior netminder Alex Pientka made 14 saves for the Valiants, while sophomore goalie TIM CONDRON had 11 stops for the Red Hawks.

MSU is now off until next Wednesday, March 30, when it visits Knickerbocker Conference rival Kean in Union, NJ. Manhattanville will host Dominican College that same day in Purchase, NY.