Galloway, NJ – The Montclair State men's lacrosse team tallied four goals in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback, falling to Stockton 15-14 in the CSAC opener Saturday.

MATT DANCSECS tallied five goals for Montclair State (6-3, 0-1 CSAC), while Dante Poli recorded four goals and four assists for Stockton (6-2, 1-0 CSAC).

Dancsecs wasted little time getting the Red Hawks on the board, scoring twice within the first 1:24 of the contest. Stockton answered with the following four markers, including a pair from Sean Haddock, to take a 4-2 lead. The high-scoring first quarter wasn't done yet, as the two sides combined for four goals over the final 5:50. JOE COVINO stopped the Osprey run off a feed from Dancsecs, but the hosts tallied their fifth of the period with 2:32 to go. Montclair State closed the frame out with the final two tallies, including one from CHRISTIAN BOYLE, with 55 ticks left to pull them even at five.

The Red Hawks regained the lead 3:40 into the second on a man-up marker from Dancsecs, but the two sides traded goals over the rest of the half to enter halftime level at eight. Poli polished off second-period scoring with an unassisted goal with five seconds remaining. Stockton held a slim 30-25 edge in shots over the first 30 minutes, but DAVID METZGER denied 10 first-half scoring opportunities.

CONNOR GABILANES pushed MSU back ahead 1:56 into the second half, but the Ospreys would reel off five consecutive goals to open their largest advantage of the game at four at 13-9. With time winding down in the third, MIKE MCCREERY stopped the scoring spurt, converting a Boyle pass with two seconds left on the clock.

Montclair State staged a furious rally after Stockton notched the first goal in the fourth. Boyle tallied a man-up goal with 9:13 left before Dancsecs converted a TYLER MCCREERY pass 34 seconds after. After a man-up marker from Stockton, Boyle and MIKE MCCREERY scored to cut the deficit to one with 2:03 to go. The Red Hawks won the ensuing faceoff but turned the ball over without getting a shot. The Ospreys would be able to run out the rest of the clock to claim the win.

TYLER MCCREERY notched a goal and five assists to match Dancsecs with six points, as Boyle also notched a hat-trick on 14 shots. Defensively, WILSON SMITH forced three turnovers to go along with six ground balls, with ANDREA FIORENZA winning 15 faceoffs. Metzger made 14 saves in the setback, while Osprey keeper Eric Lindskog also denied 14 shots.

The Red Hawks return to action on Wednesday to head to Pennsylvania to battle the University of Scranton at 4 pm.