Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University field hockey team, coming off a massive season-opening win, looks to try and take down their second-straight ranked opponent as they battle #19 MIT on Sunday

GAME INFO
The game is set to start at noon on Sprague Field. Live coverage of the game can be found at montclairathletics.com.

LAST TIME OUT
Montclair kicked off the season with a bang, stunning #12 Cortland, 1-0 on Friday.  The Red Hawks battled the Red Dragons early, as neither side conceded a shot for the opening five minutes before NATALIE SURMA saw an attempt blocked. Montclair held tight defensively, only defending one penalty corner attempt and no shots from Cortland for the entirety of the frame. Surma notched her second shot of the quarter in the waning moments, but it went just wide. Montclair recorded the game's first shot on goal in the opening two minutes of the second stanza, as SADIE EICHLIN ripped a shot from just inside the circle that was parried away. Cortland began to push offensively, recording three shots on goal that were all stopped by SYDNEY WHITE over a minute span. Over the final three minutes of the half, the visitors notched three shots on five consecutive penalty corners, but the Red Hawks stood tall defensively to keep the game level at the half. White opened the second half with another stop in the fourth minute of the frame, as the Red Dragons notched another pair of shots six minutes later. After Cortland held firm on a Montclair penalty corner with 90 seconds on the clock, the Red Hawks closed the stanza with a strong offensive push. BELLA HEISER recorded a shot on goal that had to be knocked away by Cortland, and Eichlin saw her second attempt of the afternoon blocked with 20 seconds remaining. The Red Hawks broke through five minutes into the fourth quarter, as BELLA HEISER surged from midfield and slipped a pass to DARBY VON BERG, who tucked a feed right in front of the cage for Surma. The junior immediately flicked the ball past the Cortland goaltender to push the home side in front. Cortland tallied two penalty corner attempts over the remainder of the contest, but could only generate one shot, which was blocked by the Montclair defense to seal the ranked victory.

2025 TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (1-0)
Goals: NATALIE SURMA, 1
Assists: DARBY VON BERG, 1
Points: NATALIE SURMA, 2
Shots: NATALIE SURMA, 3
Saves: SYDNEY WHITE, 5
Wins: SYDNEY WHITE, 1
 
#19 MIT (0-1)
Goals: Shealy Callahan, 1
Assists: Janie Thomas, 1
Points: Shealy Callahan, 2
Shots: Two tied with 3
Saves: Maeve Zimmer, 10
Wins: N/A

SCOUTING MIT
The Engineers enter this game as the #19 team in the country according to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Preseason Poll; however, they enter the match 0-1 after falling short against #12 Cortland, 2-1 in overtime on Saturday. In 2024, MIT went 14-5 overall with an 8-1 record in the NEWMAC Conference. In the conference tournament, they defeated WPI, 2-1, to get to the NEWMAC Championship game, where they were blanked by Babson, 3-0. According to the 2025 NEWMAC Preseason Poll, the Engineers are predicted to finish second again.

SERIES HISTORY
Montclair and MIT will face off for the third time in their series history. Both teams each notched a win against each other.

LAST MEETING
The Red Hawks and the Engineers met last on September 1, 2022, up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where MIT was victorious by a score of 3-1.   

UP NEXT
Montclair will hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday, September 6, when it takes on Franklin & Marshall at 3:00 p.m.