New Paltz, NY – Senior forward Katilyn Struss scored twice during a four-goal first half as No. 12 Montclair State won its second straight game, topping New Paltz 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon.
AMBER HASLETT and HANNAH BOLLINGER each added a goal as the Red Hawks (2-0) held off a second-half rally by the Hawks, who fell to 1-1 on the season.

MSU scored on its first shot five minutes in after earning a penalty corner. Off the insert from KELLY WATSON, Struss knocked in the feed for the game's first goal. Struss added to the lead at the 10:35 mark with her second goal, a shot the deflected in off a New Paltz player.

It was the 49^th career goal for Struss, who moved into second place on the all-time MSU list.

The Red Hawks increased the lead to 3-0 with 17:10 left in the first half as Haslett notched her second goal of the year with a shot from the top of the circle. Montclair's scoring onslaught continued as HANNAH BOLLINGER finished off a feed from KELLIE VIZZUSO with 9:20 left before halftime giving Montclair the 4-0 advantage.

In the second half, New Paltz, outshot 11-4 in the first half, fired off three shots to open the period however each was stopped by MSU goalkeeper KAITLIN MAGUIRE, who would finish with 11 saves in the contest.  

The Hawks broke through on the scoreboard when Sarah Ackerman found the back of the cage at the 47:15 mark.  Justine O'Reilly connected with Carly Croteau 10 minutes later cutting the host's deficit to 4-2.

New Paltz had a chance to pull closer but Maguire stopped penalty stroke by Paige Gladstone with 9:32 left before making two more saves to preserve the victory.

MSU outshot the Hawks 20-15 in the contest and also held the advantage in penalty corners, 7-4.

Montclair State is back in action on Saturday, September 9 with a trip to Cortland, NY for a 2:00 pm matchup with the Red Dragons. The following day, MSU will stay in Upstate New York taking on Bates at Hamilton College.