Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University men's lacrosse team is back in action and will travel to Pennsylvania for a matchup with Scranton on Tuesday afternoon
 
GAME INFO
First face off from Scranton is set for 5:00 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at montclairathletics.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair earned a dominant 17-4 win in its home opener against Gwynedd Mercy on Sunday, February 15. The Red Hawks (2-0) came out of the opening face-off strong, notching a goal from JACKSON SIMONS in the fourth minute of play. Montclair accumulated three more shots over the next four minutes, paired with caused turnovers from CORBIN QUINTERO and LOGAN LAMARCA. With the quarter passing its midway point, the home side potted a pair of goals on consecutive possessions, as BRIAN KELLY and JONATHAN SLUSSER found the back of the net. Later in the frame, SEAN STEPHENSON generated a turnover from the Griffins leading to Kelly's second marker of the afternoon to make the score 4-0 after 15 minutes of play. Montclair's defense tightened in the early stages of the second frame, allowing just one shot over the opening seven and a half minutes. Following a turnover in the opponent's half of the field, Stephenson scooped up a ground ball, leading to a goal from RYAN VIERBUCHEN off a feed from LOUIS AZARA to increase the lead to five. Gwynedd Mercy searched for their first strike of the day in the final minutes of the half, logging three shots over the final 90 seconds, leading to a goal with 26 seconds on the game clock. The Red Hawks immediately countered with a Slusser goal coming out of a timeout to make the halftime score 6-1. KAI DONAHUE kicked off the third stanza with a marker two minutes in, with the Griffins getting on the board once again at the 10:59 mark. The home side answered on the ensuing possession, with Kelly recording his second goal of the afternoon, kickstarting what would be a stretch of eight consecutive goals spanning two quarters for Montclair. Following a penalty from Gwynedd Mercy, Vierbuchen converted the man-up opportunity, with Kelly potting one of his own on the advantage after a face-off win from JACOB HOLICKI. After Holicki notched his second-straight face-off victory, Vierbuchen found Kelly for another marker to vault Montclair in front 11-2. Vierbuchen netted another pair of strikes shortly after, with the Red Hawks taking a double-digit advantage into the final quarter, 13-2. The Red Hawks continued their surge, with Stephenson finding the back of the net after cruising across the field after NICHOLI HALSE tallied a pair of saves on the previous two possessions. Vierbuchen continued his busy day 30 seconds later, slotting a pass to MAX MOROSOFF for a goal. The next minute, Montclair extended the lead to 14 on a strike from ADRI KOLIQI. With just over eight minutes on the clock, Gwynedd Mercy potted their third marker of the day, but the Red Hawks answered again on a shot from RYAN BROWN for their final goal of the afternoon. The Griffins notched the last score of the contest with 1:21 left, but the Red Hawks came away victorious in their 2026 home opener.
 
TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (2-0)
Goals: Two tied with 7
Assists: RYAN VIERBUCHEN, 4
Points: RYAN VIERBUCHEN, 11
Shots: BRIAN KELLY, 22
Ground Balls: CARTER FINNEN, 11
Caused Turnovers: CORBIN QUINTERO, 7
Faceoff Wins: JACOB HOLICKI, 26
Saves: NICHOLI HALSE, 10
Wins: NICHOLI HALSE, 2
 
SCRANTON (1-3)
Goals: Six tied with 3
Assists: Quinn Carson, 4
Points: Quinn Carson, 7
Shots: Kyle Holmes, 18
Ground Balls: Two tied with 12
Caused Turnovers: Logan Kelly, 7
Faceoff Wins: Shawn Martin, 24
Saves: Declan Allen, 53
Wins: Declan Allen, 1


SCOUTING SCRANTON
The Royals enter this game with a 1-3 overall record after being bested by Ithaca, 13-10 this past Saturday. In 2025, the Royals compiled a 12-9 overall record, but were a perfect 9-0 in Landmark play. They entered the tournament as the top seed and ran through Catholic (16-8) and Elizabethtown (10-6) to be crowned Landmark Champions. In the NCAA Tournament, the Royals bested Immaculata in the first round, 20-8, before Washington & Lee halted their season by a score of 20-9. Scranton is once again the favorite to win the Landmark, according to the 2026 Landmark Coaches Poll.  

SERIES HISTORY
The Red Hawks and the Royals will face off for the 17^th time in their history. It was also be the fifth-straight season these two programs face off. Scranton has the slight edge in the series at 9-7.  

LAST MEETING
These two teams met last season on March 5, where a hard-fought game found Montclair the victors by a score of 7-6.  

UP NEXT
Men's lacrosse will compete in the Leanos Cup for the second-straight season at Drew University. Their opening matchup on Friday, March 6, will be against Emerson at 3:00 p.m. in Madison, NJ.