Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's lacrosse team (8-7, 0-5 CLC) had a lead in the first quarter but was ultimately downed by #2 Salisbury (15-0, 5-0 CLC), 26-9, in their Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) and regular-season finale on Saturday.
How It Happened
- The Sea Gulls opened the game with a goal in the first 1:15 of the game, but the Red Hawks fired back at the nationally ranked squad. JOHN CRANK picked up the ground ball off the succeeding faceoff and placed the ball in the net for the tie. Crank then put Montclair ahead just one minute later with another goal, this time assisted by JACK CLEARY. Cleary then, at 8:12, fired in a goal of his own off a pass from AIDAN MAXWELL, and all of a sudden, the Red Hawks were on top, 3-1. After holding out for three minutes, Salisbury eventually broke through the Montclair defense with a goal at the 5:58 mark. That goal opened the floodgates as the Sea Gulls fired back with four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead into the second quarter.
- Salisbury kept the attack going, scoring a trio of goals in the first four minutes of the second quarter for a 9-3 lead. Montclair took advantage of a man-up opportunity at the 7:46 mark when JULIAN VARONA found MAX MOROSOFF for a goal 16 seconds later. The Red Hawks won the next face-off and tried to chip away at the lead, but a blocked shot and a quick-transition goal from Salisbury put them up 10-4. They then took advantage of a non-releasable penalty to fire in three more goals to bump the lead up to 13-4. The Sea Gulls collected two more goals down the stretch in the first half to take a 15-4 lead into the halftime break.
- The Red Hawks kicked off the scoring in the second half at the 13:20 timestamp with Cleary firing in his second goal of the day. Salisbury responded with four unanswered goals to take a 19-5 advantage. Between 4:50 and 2:57, Montclair saw a duo of unassisted goals from LOUIS AZARA and ETHAN MOUNIER to cut into the lead 19-7. The Sea Gulls put one more shot into the net with 17 second remaining and took a 20-7 lead into the final quarter.
- It was almost all Salisbury in the fourth quarter, amassing six goals all the way down to the 5:36 mark. The Red Hawks added to its total two more times before the final horn sounded with two man-up goals. At 4:07, CODY COOPER connected with Morosoff for a goal and then with 2:43 remaining in the game, Azara found the back of the net off a pass from SEBASTIAN GRAZIANO. The game went final with the score at 26-9 Salisbury.
Inside the Numbers
- Crank, Cooper, and Azara each led with two goals apiece.
- NICHOLI HALSE suffered a loss in the cage. He totaled seven saves in the game. GIANNI GRAZIANO and OWEN TORREY both saw time in goal today as well. Graziano tied Halse with seven saves while Torrey collected one.
- Montclair was 14-for-18 on clears in the game and went 3-for-7 on man-up opportunities.
From the Field
Up Next
- The stage is set for the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Playoffs. Montclair will enter the tournament as the #6 seed and will travel to the #3 seed Kean on Sunday, April 27. The time to be determined later.
