Troy, NY – Junior attack BRETT MANGAN scored the game-winner with seven seconds left on the clock to lead No. 16 Montclair State to a 9-8 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in non-conference men's lacrosse action on Sunday afternoon at East Campus Stadium, in the 2015 season opener for both teams.
 
Mangan's goal made it a successful debut for new MSU head coach Mike Schambach, who took over the team in November. He became the sixth coach in program history to start his tenure with a victory.
 
It was the third consecutive season and fourth time in six meetings that the Red Hawks and Engineers played to a one-goal contest. Last season Montclair at Sprague Field by the identical 9-8 score and registered a 10-9 win at RPI in 2013 on MICHAEL SCHRECK's goal in overtime.  

RPI had tied the game at 8-8 with two minutes left to play on a goal by Scott Crow (Darnestown, MD / Bullis School), and Ben Piersiak (Needham, MA / St. Sebastians) won the ensuing faceoff to give the Engineers a chance at the win.
 
The Red Hawks blocked an RPI shot, but Matthew Gillman (St. Louis, MO / John Burroughs) picked up the ground ball to keep possession for the Engineers. Schreck caused a turnover, picking off an RPI pass, and streaked to the offensive end, where he found Mangan (Maplewood, NJ / Columbia) on the far side of the crease. Mangan took a hard shot past RPI goalkeeper David Gibbs (Stony Brook, NY / Ward Melville) for the winning goal.

Rensselaer took a 2-0 lead to start the game, getting an unassisted goal by Pat Hogan (Mt. Sinai, NY / Mt. Sinai) at 12:27, followed by a man-up tally by Matt Hall (Sudbury, MA / Lincoln-Sudbury) with an assist going to Pat Finn (North Easton, MA / Thayer Academy). Montclair State was able to get on the board before the first quarter ended, as Schreck recorded his first assist of the day for ALEX HAHN (Hackettstown, NJ / Pope John XXIII).

The Red Hawks tied the game at 2-2 early in the second quarter, as ZACH SCHRECK (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) scored an unassisted tally at 13:24. The Engineers then scored three straight to build up a 5-2 advantage. Mark Surgent (Clifton, NJ / Clifton) recorded an unassisted goal before Breanainn McNeally (Severna Park, MD / Archbishop Spaulding) scored the next two for RPI. Gillman and Crow picked up assists on the McNeally goals. However, CONNOR CUNNINGHAM (Jackson, NJ / Jackson Memorial) followed with the next pair of scores for Montclair State. His first came with 3:22 to play in the second quarter, while the second came at 10:20 of the third, pulling the Red Hawks back to within one.

Montclair State tied the game at 5-5 on a SHANE RAYMOND (Old Bridge, NJ / Old Bridge) goal at 7:43 of the third, and then rattled off two more goals to pull ahead 7-5 with 3:47 remaining. Hogan ended the run with his second goal of the day at 2:37, and the Engineers went into the final quarter trailing by a one-goal margin.

Gillman took an assist from Finn at 10:25 of the final quarter to knot the game back up for the third time, but Montclair State responded, retaking the lead with 7:18 to play on an unassisted goal by Hahn. RPI had a man-up opportunity later in the quarter, as a Red Hawk was called for a one-minute slashing penalty, but the Engineers were unable to capitalize, setting up the action in the final two minutes.

RPI outshot the Red Hawks, 38-28, while Montclair State held a 31-29 advantage in ground balls, and won 11-of-20 faceoffs. The Engineers were 1-for-6 on the man-up, and the Red Hawks went 1-for-4 with the extra man. Gibbs made nine saves in the loss, while Montclair State's LUCAS JONES (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) recorded 13 saves for the Red Hawks.
 
MSU returns to action next Saturday, February 28 with its home opener at Sprague Field. The Red Hawks will host Dickinson College at 2:00 pm. Last season, Montclair knocked off the then-sixth-ranked Red Devils 14-11 in Carlisle, PA. It was the first win over a Top 10 in MSU program history.