POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 5, 2015) – No. 14 Montclair State outscored Vassar 9-1 in the second half, led by a five-goal performance from junior Zach Schreck, as the Red Hawks downed Vassar 12-3 Wednesday evening. Despite an hour and a half delay due to traffic issues, Montclair (3-0) arrived at Tenney Stadium on the campus of Marist College to earn its third victory of the season. Freshman goalie Erik Mikelinich (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills HS West) made 12 saves for the Brewers in his second collegiate game, as the Brewers now fall to 1-1 on the year.

Neither team could find the net early in the first quarter, as solid goalkeeping on both ends prevented any scores. The Red Hawks finally broke through with 2:06 on the clock, as Schreck notched his first of the evening. Schreck struck again less than two minutes later on a feed from junior Alex Hahn to put his side up 2-0.

VC was the first to strike in the second quarter, as freshman Brandon DeStasio (West Hempstead, NY/John F. Kennedy) buried his second goal of the year on a dish from senior Sean Brazier (Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville) with 10:43 to play. Schreck brought the lead back to two with 6:54 remaining, putting away another assist from Hahn to make it 3-1. Junior Noah Parson (Cary, NC/Panther Creek) had the answer for Vassar at the 5:09 mark, nailing a shot off a beautiful feed from DeStasio to cut the deficit to one before halftime.

In was all Red Hawks in the second half, as the visitors scored two quick goals to open the third quarter and go up 5-2. Brazier was able to get Vassar as close as 5-3, after a netting a goal on a feed from sophomore Chris Billups (Watchung, NJ/Oratory Preparatory) to bring his side within two at 8:01 in the third. Montclair took control from that point on, scoring seven unanswered goals before the final horn to seal the victory.

Vassar committed 20 turnovers to just seven from Montclair, while being outshot by the Red Hawks 43-22. The Brewers held an 11-7 advantage on face-offs, while Montclair was 2-5 and VC was 0-6 on extra man opportunities.

The Brewers will hit the road for the first time this season when the team travels to Swarthmore, PA to face Swarthmore College on Saturday, March 7 at 3:00 pm.

--VASSAR--