MONTCLAIR, NJ – Powered by an eight-goal second half, the Montclair State University men's lacrosse team came-from-behind to defeat Vassar College in the season-opener for the Brewers at Sprague Field. The Red Hawks improve to 3-0, while the Brewers are now 0-1.

Owning a 6-3 edge after the opening half, the Brewers saw their lead disappear as the Red Hawks scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter to take a 7-6 lead. Senior midfielder Skyler Francisco started the run, connecting on a feed from sophomore middie Christian Boyle at 9:18.

Francisco then fed junior attack Robert Brennan on the man-up opportunity, followed less than a minute later as sophomore midfielder Joe Covino scored at 5:17 to make it 6-all. The Red Hawks took advantage of another Vassar penalty at 3:08 as Brennan pushed the home team ahead on the man-up.

The Montclair State lead was short-lived as sophomore midfielder Logan Hyde scored unassisted at 2:16, but fourth quarter momentum proved to be in the Red Hawks favor with four straight to open the frame. Brennan recorded his third goal of the match at 9:36, giving MSU the 8-7 edge.

Sophomore middie Tyler McCreery, who posted a game-high four assists, buried one at 9:28 off a feed from his brother, freshman Mike McCreery. With around seven minutes to go, sophomore midfielder Matt Dancsecs made it a 10-7 game, adding a man-up exactly four minutes later for the four-goal edge (11-7).

The Brewers didn't back down, battling against the clock for a comeback. Senior captain and attack Kyle Cherry connected on an score from freshman attacker Riley Olds at the 1:50 mark to close the gap to three (11-8) and senior captain Michael Mullen buried his own man-up tally with 15 seconds. Despite a last-second shot from senior midfielder/face-off specialist Matthew Lowery, the Brewers were unable to complete to rally.

It was Vassar through that owned the start of the contest, converting a one-goal deficit into a 3-1 advantage behind goals from Lowery, junior defender Stefan Fleps and junior attack Spencer Duryee over a span of four-minutes. The McCreery siblings recorded back-to-back goals to tie it at 3-all, but markers from Lowery, Hyde and junior attack Tomás Meade gave the Brewers the 6-3. Lead. Neither team scored in the second frame.

Montclair State was paced by Dancsecs and Brennan, each of whom had three goals. Dancsecs also added an assist with four ground balls. Tyler McCreery added two goals and four assists with a ground ball and a caused turnover, while midfielder Tyler Ball had five ground balls and a team-high four caused turnovers. In the X, junior Matthew McLaren earned the victory with an eight save effort.

Vassar was led by a two-goal effort from Lowery and Hyde. Lowery posted a match-high 11 ground balls, going 13-23 on the face-off. Hyde also had an assist and a ground ball. Five other players notched goals for the Brewers, while Mullen and senior defender Cooper Vorel each had three caused turnovers. Sophomore Devin Lee shouldered the tough loss in the cage, making 10 saves on the night for the Brewers.

Shots in the contest were close as Montclair owned a 40-36 edge (21-17 on goal). On the clear, the Red Hawks were near perfect with a 23-26 mark, while the Brewers were close as well with a 14-17 margin. MSU had a 36-34 margin in ground balls, as Vassar won the face-off margin 13-11.

Vassar returns to action on Saturday when it hosts its home opener at Weinberg Turf. The Brewers welcome Swarthmore for a 12pm tilt. Montclair State is also in action on Saturday, welcoming the University of Scranton at 12pm.