Montclair, NJ – Freshman forward Kaitlyn Struss (Fairfield, NJ, West Essex) scored with 19:10 remaining in the second half as eighth-ranked Montclair State handed New Paltz it first loss of the season, 1-0 at Sprague Field on Wednesday evening.
 
Struss collected her sixth goal of the season and for the fourth time in five games as MSU won its second straight improving to 4-1. Montclair State also upped its record against New Paltz to 13-0 with its fourth one-goal victory in the series.
 
The Red Hawks dominated the stat sheet, outshooting New Paltz 25-1 and out-cornering the visitors 12-2 yet the game went scoreless until the final 20 minutes thanks in part to an outstanding effort by New Paltz keeper Alayna Wageman (Getzville, NY / Williamsville North) who made 12 saves, including seven in the first half.
 
Defense ruled the first 10 minutes of the contest as neither team was able to get shot however New Paltz nearly got a golden opportunity five minutes in. Junior Dani Ackerman (Nesconset, NY / Smithtown East) collected at ball at the top of the circle and was driving toward the goal when keeper Rebecca Brattole (Clark, NJ, Arthur L. Johnson) came out and smothered the attempt before a shot could be taken. Ackerman was able to gather the loose ball again and sent a cross in front of the goal that rolled by before an MSU defender cleared the ball out of the circle.
 
MSU's Gianna Moglino (Holmdel, NJ, Holmdel) would post the first shot of the game however the Hawks would notch the first scoring opportunity with what turned out to be its only shot of the game. Off a penalty corner insert from Deirdre O'Neill (New City, NY / Clarkstown South), Jessica Caruana (Holbrook, NY / Sachem East) ripped a shot from the top of the circle that Brattole kicked away with her blocker at the 12:33 mark.
 
From that point on all the shots would come from Montclair State however the Red Hawks couldn't solve Wageman, who made one save against Joelle Butrico (South Plainfield, NJ, South Plainfield) at 15:06 before making three straight stops on attempts by Butrico, Abby Erler (New Hampton, NH, Newfound Regional) and Struss at 18:31. Wageman would come up again with save on a Butrico shot at the 24-minute mark and then thwarted consecutive attempts by Struss 50 seconds later as the game remained scoreless at halftime.
 
Less than a minute into the second half, Wageman denied Maura Johnston (Montville, NJ, Montville) on a 2-on-1 break with a sprawling slide and she added another stop two minutes later against Struss, who could not find her way past Wageman in the 43^rd minute as her shot got through but rolled wide of the cage.
 
Montclair State would finally break through at 50:50 as Johnston fired a hard pass from outside the circle toward the left post. Struss was able to gather the ball on her stick before flipping one past Wageman for what turned out to be the only goal of the contest.
 
Brattole earned her first shutout of the season the first for MSU, which set a school record last season with 13 shutouts.
 
The Red Hawks are back in action on Saturday, September 13 as Montclair State hosts Misericordia University at 1:00 pm.