Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University field hockey team (3-7, 1-0 NJAC) honored its four seniors for Senior Day before earning a 5-1 victory against Ramapo in its NJAC opener.

HOW IT HAPPENED

·        Montclair went on the attack right out of the gate and put a shot on goal, but a defensive save negated what would have been an early score in the first minute of the contest. A green card in the fifth minute presented another opportunity for Montclair to generate a shot, but two shots were off target. Ramapo went on a late surge in the opening frame, creating three penalty corner opportunities in the final three minutes, but were unable to get two shots to fall, and the game went scoreless into the second period.

·        The Red Hawks took the lead just over two and a half minutes into the second quarter. KASEY WATSON pushed a ball for NATALIE SURMA, who turned around and fired it into the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead.

·        Just two minutes later, Heiser saw a breakaway opportunity off a foul and ripped a shot right into the top left corner of the cage for a 2-0 lead, one they took into the second half.

·        In the 32^nd minute in the third period, Montclair was awarded a penalty-stroke opportunity. SADIE EICHLIN stepped up to take it and buried it to push the lead up to 3-0. The Roadrunners tried to find their first goal of the contest, putting all four of its third-quarter shots on goal, but all were stonewalled by SYDNEY WHITE.

·        In the fourth period, Ramapo was awarded a penalty stroke at the 46:23 mark and sunk it to end the shutout and put the score at 3-1.

·        Montclair capped off the game with two goals down the stretch. Surma scored similarly as she did in the first, collecting a rebound shot by DARBY VON BERG and putting in her second goal of the game at the 50:45 timestamp. KELLY WESTERVELT, in the 56^th minute, collected a ball on the top right of the arc and rocketed a shot past the Roadrunner goalkeeper and put the exclamation point on the contest with a 5-1 triumph.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

·       Before the contest, Montclair honored its four seniors: MARISSA CRAIG, KELLY WESTERVELT, SADIE EICHLIN, and ANNA DONALDSON for their contributions to the program, on and off the field.

·       White secured the win in goal and notched six saves along the way.

·       Surma saw her second career multi-goal game of her career. Her first came last season against Gwynedd Mercy, where she put in two goals.

·       Eichlin remained perfect in penalty strokes in her career, pushing her total to 6-for-6.

FROM THE FIELD

·       "It was a complete effort today. We stuck to our game plan, played with energy from start to finish, and earned a great conference win." Associate Head Coach Marissa Siconolfi

UP NEXT

·        Montclair State University will stay home for conference play, hosting William Paterson on Wednesday, October 8, for a 6:00 p.m. matchup.