Madison, NJ – The Montclair State University men's lacrosse team knocked off Drew 17-9 on Sunday afternoon to win the 2025 Tom Leanos Cup.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (6-1) started strong, as JOHN CRANK forced a turnover on the opening possession of the contest from the Rangers, leading to a goal from JACK CLEARY on the other end to break the scoring open. RYAN HARPER forced a turnover on the next possession, and CODY COOPER found JULIAN VARONA on the ensuing possession to double the advantage two and a half minutes in.
• Three minutes later, MAX MOROSOFF picked up a ground ball after forcing a turnover and sent in a strike to push the lead to three. Cooper found the back of the net as the clock approached the six-minute mark of the opening quarter, and Cleary slotted a pass to DAREN MAYER for Montclair's fifth goal of the day. The teams combined for four goals in the final two minutes, as Montclair led by seven after the first 15 minutes.
• Drew tallied two saves early in the second period, leading to their second goal of the day at the 10:21 mark of the half. Almost five minutes later, Morosoff found Cleary to provide the answer for Montclair, but the Rangers countered quickly to make the score 9-3 with 4:27 on the clock. LUCAS NOVACK won the resulting faceoff and assisted on a goal from Cleary to make the halftime lead seven for the visitors.
• Montclair rattled off two quick goals to begin the second half on strikes from WILLIAM BURDGE and ETHAN MOUNIER to make the score 12-3 three and a half minutes in. The Rangers capitalized on a Montclair penalty to end the run with a goal at the 9:47 mark of the third, but Cleary answered five minutes later with an unassisted marker. Drew closed the quarter with the final two goals to cut the deficit to seven entering the final stanza of play.
• The Rangers continued their push into the fourth as they scored three minutes in, but Novack won the ensuing faceoff and answered with a marker of his own. A man-up goal with just under eight minutes remaining brought Drew back within six goals, but Montclair responded with the game-finishing run. Cooper found Mounier for a strike at the 6:14 mark, and Crank scored off a feed from Morosoff shortly after. Cleary scored the final goal of the day for the Red Hawks with two and a half minutes remaining, as Montclair would seal the victory over the final moments.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Cleary amassed a career-high five goals to lead the way for Montclair while also compiling four assists to push his team-leading total to 15 on the campaign. He has notched 15 points over the team's last two contests.
• Morosoff tallied his third performance with five or more points as he finished with two goals and three assists. 
• NICHOLI HALSE earned the victory in net for Montclair as he tallied six saves in the first half.
• The Red Hawks outshot Drew 53-23 on the day and held a 12-shot advantage in shots on goal. 
• Montclair has won five consecutive contests and has collected a 6-1 record to kick off the season, their best start since 2014.
• The victory clinched the Tom Leanos Cup Championship for the Red Hawks, as they outscored opponents 33-17 during the competition.

FROM THE FIELD

"Really proud of our team today. We have been getting off to slow starts lately but really came out fast and strong today which was nice to see. We did a great job sharing the ball which is a credit to our offensive today. As a former assistant coach at Drew under Tom Leanos, I was truly honored to be able to play in the Leanos cup and even more honored that we were able to win it." - Head Coach Matt Poskay

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will take on Maritime College on Wednesday, March 19 at the University of Delaware, with opening faceoff scheduled for 12:00 PM.