Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University field hockey team heads to Center Valley, Pa, for a matchup against DeSales on Wednesday night

GAME INFO
The contest on the DeSales Turf Fields is set for a 7:00 p.m. start. Live coverage of the game can be found at montclairathletics.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair hosted Messiah this past Saturday, where a late goal in the fourth period sunk the Red Hawks, 1-0. The Red Hawks stood tall defensively early, as the Falcons recorded two shots within the opening six minutes that went wide of the cage. Montclair countered with back-to-back penalty corners a minute later, but the Messiah defense held the Red Hawks without a shot during the sequence. The visitors amassed four penalty corners down the stretch of the opening stanza and could only create one shot attempt through the Montclair defense, as the two sides finished scoreless through 15 minutes. Messiah started the second quarter strong, notching an early penalty corner leading to another shot attempt that trickled wide of the cage. On the ensuing penalty corner, SYDNEY WHITE tallied back-to-back saves in front of the cage to keep the visitors out. White notched another save five minutes later, with the resulting shot on the sequence going wide and out of play. The Red Hawks tallied their first two shots of the contest, as SADIE EICHLIN and BELLA HEISER tried to break the game open. White recorded a save in the quarter's waning stages to go into the break scoreless. Shortly after halftime, NATALIE SURMA sent a shot on target that had to be parried away by the Falcons. A few minutes later, Messiah countered with a flurry of shots with a penalty corner sandwiched in between. White tallied three saves during the stretch, keeping the game level. On the ensuing possession, Heiser notched a shot on target that was saved by Messiah. The Red Hawks received another save from White with two and a half minutes on the clock, as the two sides went into the final 15 minutes. Messiah broke through in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter, connecting on a long shot from just inside the circle to take the lead. The Falcons kept pushing offensively over the ensuing stretch, placing three shots on target over a three-minute span, with White notching a trio of stops. Messiah tightened up defensively down the stretch, holding the home side without a shot to seal the road victory.
 
  
 
2025 TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (1-4)
Goals: SADIE EICHLIN, 2
Assists: Two Tied with 2
Points: SADIE EICHLIN, 4
Shots: NATALIE SURMA, 11
Saves: SYDNEY WHITE, 46
Wins: SYDNEY WHITE, 1
 
DESALES (2-3)
Goals: Brynn Balliet, 3
Assists: Six tied for 1
Points: Brynn Balliet, 7
Shots: Stephanie Pallante, 21
Saves: Alyssa Schlossman, 38
Wins: Alyssa Schlossman, 1

SCOUTING DESALES
The Bulldogs enter this game just under the .500 mark at 2-3, but were victors in their last time out when they defeated Wilkes, 3-1. In 2024, DeSales finished at 9-10, but were 5-2 in MAC Freedom play and qualified for the conference tournament, but were ultimately defeated in the first round by Stevens, 5-3. According to the MAC Freedom Preseason Poll, they are projected to finish fourth in 2025

SERIES HISTORY
Montclair and DeSales will face off with each other for the sixth time in their series history. Montclair is in control of the all-time record at 4-1.

LAST MEETING
These two teams met last season on Sprague Field on September 18, where the Red Hawks blanked the Bulldogs, 3-0.    

UP NEXT
Montclair will remain on the road for a matchup on Saturday, September 20, where they will face off with Muhlenberg at 1:00 p.m.