San Juan, Puerto Rico – The Montclair State University women's lacrosse team surged past Western New England, 18-9, on Tuesday morning to cap off its Puerto Rico spring break trip.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (4-2) started the contest strong, rattling off four consecutive shots on the game's opening possession, with the last being a goal from AMRA LUKOVIC off a feed from CHELSEA STACK. Montclair continued to push offensively in the early stages, notching the next four shots with CARA MCCARTNEY finding the back of the net at the 7:46 mark to double the advantage.
• After back-to-back shots from NORAH MONAGHAN, the Red Hawks pushed the lead to three just under five minutes to go in the opening stanza on a strike from KAELEY SEK. Western New England countered on the next possession with their first two shots of the day, finding the back of the net with 3:52 on the clock. Lukovic responded with her second of the day on the next possession, and MEGHAN VITALE and Sek added goals down the stretch of the quarter to make the score 6-1 after 15 minutes.
• Montclair kicked off the second frame strong, as JOELLE D'ANGELO found Stack for a goal shortly after a yellow card from the Golden Bears. Western New England answered with markers on back-to-back possessions to make the margin four, but on the ensuing possession, the Red Hawks tallied three straight shots before finding the back of the net on a shot from Sek four minutes into the quarter.
• Western New England notched their fourth goal of the day shortly after, but Montclair responded with the final five goals of the half, led by Vitale, Lukovic, and Stack before MIA CUCCINELLO rattled off two goals in the final 62 seconds of the frame to make the halftime margin nine.
• The two sides tightened up defensively in a low-scoring third quarter, but the Golden Bears got on the board quickly with a strike on the opening possession of the half. McCartney and ASHLEY PETROSINE answered with goals over the next eight minutes to make the margin double-digits for the Red Hawks. Western New England ended the period with the final two goals to cut the deficit to eight going into the final quarter of play.
• Lukovic found the back of the net to begin the fourth frame, and McCartney scored two minutes later to push the lead back to 10 for the Red Hawks. The Golden Bears scored following a Montclair timeout, but the Red Hawks countered on the next possession with another marker from Petrosine to maintain the margin. After a scoreless eight minute stretch from both sides, Stack struck in the final moments of the contest to complete the sweep of the Puerto Rico trip for the Red Hawks.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Lukovic led the way with a four-goal performance, her second hat trick of the season and 10th of her collegiate career. Sek, McCarney, and Stack all notched hat tricks on the day.
• Cuccinello's pair of goals were the first of her collegiate career, with Petrosine and Vitale tallying their first two markers of the campaign.
• JOEY GROTKOPF collected eight saves in net for Montclair and notched her fourth victory of the year.
• All four of Montclair's victories this season have come by seven or more goals, with their average margin of victory being 11.

FROM THE FIELD

"What a great way to wrap up our time at the Puerto Rico Clasico! A complete team effort from our athletes in order to secure the win! We will enjoy a little break from our game schedule while continuing to put in the work!" - Associate Head Coach Kelsey Withrow

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face Washington College on Wednesday, March 19. First draw from Chestertown, MD is scheduled for 4:00 PM.