Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's lacrosse team edged the University of Scranton 7-6 on Wednesday night at Sprague Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (3-1) fell behind in the first minute of the contest, as the Royals found the back of the net on the opening possession of the night. Scranton continued their push early, as NICHOLI HALSE tallied two saves, with the second leading to Montclair's opening shot on goal of the contest from CODY COOPER. 
• Scranton doubled their advantage a minute later, but the Red Hawks rattled off the next three goals over the following five minutes. JULIAN VARONA put the home side on the board on an unassisted marker, and on their next possession, ETHAN MOUNIER found JOHN CRANK, who sent the ball into the back of the net to level the contest. On the ensuing faceoff, LUCAS NOVACK collected the ground ball, surged down the field, and ripped a shot into the net to give Montclair the lead.
• Early in the second, a save from the Royals off a shot on goal from Crank led to the equalizing goal on the next possession. Shortly after a timeout, Scranton reclaimed the advantage on an unassisted strike at the 12:56 mark of the stanza. Three minutes later, MAX MOROSOFF tied the game on a feed from WILLIAM BURDGE, and Varona found the back of the net for the second time approaching the eight minute mark to push Montclair back out in front. Crank scored off a feed from JACK CLEARY in the final minutes of the half to give the Red Hawks a two-goal lead going into the break.
• In a low-scoring third quarter, Varona ripped a shot on goal in the opening minute, but Scranton recorded the next three attempts before finding the back of the net at the 10 minute mark. Halse tallied two crucial saves to preserve the lead over the next four minutes. Mounier sent in an attempt on goal with 2:14 on the clock that had to be saved by the Royals, as their goal was the only marker of the period.
• Scranton opened the fourth with three of the first four shots, and continued their push with five of the next seven leading up to the seven minute mark of the final stanza. After a Montclair timeout, the home side pushed the lead back to two as Varona found CODY COOPER slicing towards goal. The Royals answered with three shots on the next possession, with their third finding the back of the net to make it a one-score game. Montclair stood tall defensively over the final five and a half 

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Varona led the way for Montclair with three points, notching two goals and an assist. Crank was the other Red Hawk with a multi-goal performance to increase his season total to nine, which ranks second on the team.
• Halse tallied 12 saves in net for the Red Hawks, his third double-digit save performance of the campaign. 
• Montclair was a perfect 17-for-17 in clear attempts on the night.

FROM THE FIELD

"It was a really nice win for us. Our defense was outstanding tonight. They really stuck to the game plan and performed at a high level. We still have to clean up parts of our overall game but I am really proud of our team tonight!" - Head Coach Matt Poskay

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face Marywood University on Wednesday, March 12. Opening faceoff from Scranton, PA is scheduled for 1:00 PM.