MSU came into Wednesday’s tilt against Scranton University looking to defend their undefeated home record at Sprague Field and to improve their record to 3-1. The Red Hawks would do just that, by edging the Scranton Royals 7-6.
It was all Scranton in the first few minutes of the opening quarter. The Royals opened up the scoring in the first minute when one of their players came right down the center of the field at the Montclair State net and scored a blistering shot.
Then the visitors got a little bit of luck when one of their players wheeled around the key and ripped a shot that skidded off the ground and past Montclair State goalkeeper Nicholi Halse to give Scranton an early 2-0 lead.
Montclair State would answer when Julian Varona ripped a shot that beat the Scranton goalkeeper, Carsen Kirschner at 6:26 left to go.
The hosts tied the game when a shot of theirs got blocked and the rebound was picked up by John Crank and quickly shot into the net at 5:26.
On the next faceoff, Montclair State’s Lucas Novack won the draw and carried the ball right down the middle of the field. He then ripped a shot on the run that flew past Kirschner to give Montclair State its first lead of the game.
In the second quarter, the Scranton Royals answered back with two quick goals inside the first four minutes, taking a 4-3 lead. MSU stemmed Scranton’s tide at 10:00 when a big save from Halse stopped Scranton in their tracks. Then MSU went to the other end of the field and scored to tie the game at four.
The Red Hawks took a 5-4 lead on a blistering shot from Varona that went off the post and in.
Neither team could penetrate the other’s defense between the eighth and second minutes of the quarter. However, Montclair State stretched its lead to two goals when Crank wound up and ripped a shot from the left side of the field that beat the goalkeeper high. Montclair State would take a 6-4 lead into halftime.
A Gritty Second Frame
Both teams tightened up defensively in the third quarter. It would take until five minutes into the quarter for a first goal of the half to be scored. The Royals’ Cooper Roberts (from Tenafly, New Jersey) got the goal at the 10 minute mark after a flurry of chances went by the wayside for Montclair. Now leading only by a slim 6-5 margin, Montclair State needed a goal to provide some security.
At 8:00, Red hawks Cody Cooper ripped a shot from the left side of the field that was saved by Kirschner. Neither offense found a way through the other team’s zone defense for the next five minutes, as shots on goal became hard to come by.
At 3:55 two penalties were called against the Royals, giving Montclair State a two-man advantage. However, all the Red Hawks could muster on this was a shot attempt by Crank. At the end of the third quarter, a backdoor pass made by Scranton tested Halse but the sophomore was up to the task stymying the chance in front of his net.
It would be Montclair State who would get the game’s next goal—a big goal to lead 7-5. Cody Cooper cut to the front of the net and received a pass from Julian Varona and shuffled the ball past Kirschner to give Montclair State a 7-5 lead.
With just over five minutes left in the game, Quinn Carson scored in tight to the Red Hawk net to cut the Scranton deficit to one.
At 3:10, a Red Hawk ripped a shot from the enter of the field that was saved by Kirschner, which may have just saved their chances of coming back.
With just over two minutes left in the game, a penalty was called against Scranton and Montclair used it as an opportunity to waste some clock.
Crank had an opportunity in front of goal, but his shot went just high.
With 30 seconds left, Scranton had the ball and managed to get off one shot that went wide. When play resumed, Scranton still had the ball and an errant pass gave possession back to the Red Hawks. With just eight seconds left, the Red Hawks passed the ball around the back and ran out the clock to earn their second straight victory and third straight at Sprague field.
Postgame Notes and What’s Next for Montclair State
For the Red Hawks, the two stars of the game were senior attack John Crank who had two goals and two ground balls and graduate student Julian Varona, who tallied two goals and added an assist.
With the win, Montclair State improve to 3-1 on the season. All games have been out-of-conference so far and will remain so until March 29 when the Red Hawks open Coastal Lacrosse Conference play against Christopher Newport.
The Red Hawks wait a week before taking on Marywood University in Scranton, PA on March 12.
