Montclair, NJ - The Montclair State field hockey team, ranked 14th in Division III, got a late goal in the first half then tallid twice five minutes apart early in the second as the Red Hawks outlasted the rain and the University of Scranton with a 3-1 victory over the Royals as Sprague Field n Wednesday evening.

Senior JOELLE BUTRICO (South Plainfield, NJ, South Plainfield), freshman Kaitlyn Struss (Fairfield, NJ, West Essex) and junior Maura Johnston (Montville, NJ, Montville) each had a goal as the Red Hawks posted their second straight victory, improving to 12-3 on the season while also winning for the fifth time in its last six outings. MSU also improved to 12-1 all-time against the Royals.

Senior midfielder Alyssa Fania (Annandale, NJ / North Hunterdon) scored for Scranton (10-4), which suffered its second straight loss.

Montclair State got a couple of early chances however goalkeeper Krista Mundy (North Caldwell, NJ / West Essex) stopped three saves, the third on against  Danielle Butrico (South Plainfield, NJ, South Plainfield)  at 23:40 of the period. A minute later it was Scranton's turn and the Royals nearly capitalized as Fania put a shot on goal that got past the keeper only to be knocked away on a defensive save by JOELLE BUTRICO.

Scranton would take the lead at 27:31 on a penalty stroke goal after the Red Hawks were called for a foul deep inside the circle. Fania deposited the stroke inside the upper left side of the cage for her 14th goal of the season and a 1-0 Royals advantage. Montclair State would get the equalizer in a similar fashion six minutes later. Off a penalty corner, JOELLE BUTRICO looped a shot that got over the head of Mundy and appeared headed however Bridget Brady (Plymouth Meeting, PA / Mt. St. Joseph Academy) was able to prevent the ball going in. A follow-up attempt by Montclair was whistled and the Red Hawks were awarded a stroke which it converted as JOELLE BUTRICO registered her fifth goal of the season knotting the game at 1-1 with 4:27 to go before halftime.

Mundy made one more save before the halftime horn as the teams went into the break tied.

In the second half, MSU's Rebecca Brattole (Clark, NJ, Arthur L. Johnson) made one save and new keeper Meghan Lee (Beachwood, NJ / Toms River South) had one of her own in the first 13 minutes before MSU grabbed the lead for good with 18:27 remaining. Meghan Weiss (Allendale, NJ, Northern Highlands) collected an insert outside the cirlce and flipped a pass down low to Struss, who maneuvered past an on-coming Lee before firing a shot into the back of the game for her 16th goal of the year and a 2-1 Red Hawks lead.

Five minutes later it was Johnston's turn as Montclair once again capitalized on one of its nine corners in the contest. Johnston inserted the ball and received a pass back on the left side that was tipped away by a defender. She gathered the loose ball and came across the field to the right side before letting go of a shot from six yards that tucked inside the right post. It was Johnston's 12 goal of the year.

Brattole stopped two shots for MSU, which outshot the Royals 22-4 in the contest. Lee made six saves in the final 35 minutes with Mundy making four saves.

Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, October 25 hosting Rowan University in a key NJAC matchup at 7:00 pm. MSU is currenlty 3-1 in the league, a game behind the Profs (4-0) with both teams trailing first-place TCNJ (5-0).  In addition, the Red Hawks were third and Rowan fourth in the first NCAA Regional Rankings released on Wednesday.