Madison, NJ – The Montclair State University Men's Lacrosse team clinched the Tom Leanos Cup for the second consecutive season, defeating the host Drew 14-6 on Sunday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (5-0) received a save in the opening minute from NICHOLI HALSE, leading to the game's opening goal on the other end on a strike from BRIAN KELLY. Drew answered three minutes later with the leveler, but Montclair countered at the 7:05 mark as KAI DONAHUE slotted a feed to RYAN VIERBUCHEN for the go-ahead goal. After winning the ensuing faceoff, the Red Hawks would double their lead on the ensuing possession as MAX MOROSOFF found the back of the net. JACOB HOLICKI won another faceoff right after, resulting in Montclair's fourth goal of the day as Morosoff found HENRY NORDSTROM with 4:45 left. The Rangers closed out the period with a goal with 36 seconds on the clock to make the score 4-2 after 15 minutes.
• Drew cut the gap to one just under four minutes into the second stanza, but Kelly would respond with another strike at the 8:33 mark to halt the Ranger rally. Four minutes later, Morosoff generated a turnover in the Drew half of the field, with CORBIN QUINTERO scooping up the ground ball and feeding Kelly for a marker in front of the net to vault Montclair back in front by three. The Red Hawks continued to push offensively over the remainder of the half, registering four shots over the final four minutes, but the two sides would go into the break with the score 6-3.
• The two sides battled to a scoreless eight minutes to begin the second half, with Halse tallying a pair of saves. Montclair would break the game open over the remainder of the quarter, beginning with a goal from JACKSON SIMONS off an assist from Morosoff. Holicki won the next faceoff, and after a penalty for the Rangers, Vierbuchen converted the man-up opportunity to push the lead to five. Right after, Holicki forced a turnover from Drew leading to another strike from Kelly with 5:35 on the clock. Morosoff would cap off the run in the stanza with an unassisted marker with three minutes to go, as the Rangers notched a goal in the waning moments to cut the difference to 10-4.
• Montclair and Drew traded goals in the opening five minutes of the fourth, with JONATHAN SLUSSER scoring on a man-up chance for the Red Hawks. As the final period crossed its midway point, Donahue increased the lead to seven following another goal contribution from Morosoff. Slusser scored again with 3:10 on the clock, and after Vierbuchen caused a turnover following the faceoff, he charged towards goal and ripped a shot into the back of the net for Montclair's final goal of the day. Drew would score shortly after to cut the game to 14-6, which would be the final tally of the afternoon.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Kelly led the way with four goals and an assist to increase his team-leading totals to 18 goals and 24 points on the campaign. He has recorded three or more goals in each of his last four games.
• Vierbuchen notched his fourth hat trick of the season while adding his seventh assist of the year. He ranks second on the team with 15 goals through five contests.
• Morosoff stuffed the statsheet with a season-best five points, coming on a pair of goals and three assists. 
• Slusser notched his third multi-goal performance of the campaign.
• Halse registered his fifth-straight victory in net for the Red Hawks, collecting 12 saves. He has stopped ten or more shots in three consecutive games.
• Montclair recorded season-highs in both shots (44) and shots on goal (27) while generating double-digit turnovers defensively for the third time.
• The Red Hawks won their second consecutive Tom Leanos Cup title, taking down the hosts both times.
• Montclair earned its fifth-straight victory to begin the campaign, its best start to a season since 2014, when it rattled off six in a row.

FROM THE FIELD

"It was a nice weekend for us. Playing two games in three days isn't an easy task in our sport, and our team stayed really focused and really wanted to win the Leanos Cup. Proud of our guys for completing the task when a few bounces didn't go our way and were able to pull away in the third quarter. We still have a lot of work to do, but it was a nice week and weekend for us." - Head Coach Matt Poskay

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will return home to take on Manhattanville on Wednesday, March 11. Opening faceoff from Sprague Field is scheduled for 4:00 PM.