Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's lacrosse team topped FDU-Florham 21-3 in their home opener on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (2-0) scored on their second shot of the contest just 73 seconds in, as RYAN VIERBUCHEN found JACKSON SIMONS for his first goal of the campaign. Montclair rattled off three more, a run capped off by another goal from Simons.
• FDU found the back of the net for the first time with 4:27 remaining in the opening stanza, but Montclair responded with a goal from Vierbuchen to make the margin four after one period of play.
• Montclair opened the second stanza with five goals in the opening five minutes. ETHAN MOUNIER kicked off the run two minutes in, and LOUIS AZARA tallied his first marker of the season. WILLIAM BURDGE scored 13 seconds later, and JACK CLEARY collected two markers of his own to make the score 10-1.
• The Red Hawks continued to apply the offensive surge, as DAREN MAYER stepped up and fired a shot past the FDU goalkeeper. JOHN CRANK got on the scoresheet at the 6:42 mark, and Mayer struck for his second with just over six minutes on the clock. The Devils scored in the waning moments of the frame to make the halftime margin 11.
• FDU tallied another goal five minutes into the second half and held Montclair scoreless until the 3:44 mark of the third, where Cleary and Vierbuchen each found the back of the net within 20 seconds of each other.
• The Red Hawks tallied two more to close out the third quarter, and scored all four markers in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vierbuchen finished with a game-high five goals and four assists. The sophomore has recorded five markers in each of Montclair's first two contests.
• Cleary and Azara each finished with three goals to mark their first collegiate hat tricks.
• LUCAS NOVACK tallied a team-high five ground balls, with DAVID DRISCOLL right behind him with four.
• All three goalkeepers saw action for Montclair, as BRANDON SHEVINS recorded four saves and the win, with OWEN TORREY and GIANNI GRAZIANO each collecting three saves.
• Montclair outshot FDU 60-25 and held a 33-13 advantage in shots on goal. The Red Hawks defense forced 31 Devils turnovers.
• The Red Hawks have won four out of their last five home openers, including three straight.

FROM THE FIELD

"We got off to a slow start but really took advantage of some transition opportunities to get us going. I think we did a great job in the middle of the field controlling some of the 50/50 ground balls and we were able to build on that and get going a little bit. We are excited we got our second win but understand we still have some work to do." - Head Coach Matt Poskay

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to take on the University of Scranton on Wednesday, March 6. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.