MADISON, NJ (February 19, 2020)- FDU Men's Lacrosse fell to Montclair State University at home on Wednesday, 11-7. With the loss, the Devils fall to 0-2 overall while the Red Hawks improve to 2-0.

FIRST HALF
FDU got on the board first at the 11:55 mark, thanks to a goal from senior John Belanger off an assist from junior Drew Bukowiec. The Red Hawks scored the next four straight, taking a 4-1 lead ten-minutes into the game. The Devils got back on the board at the 2:28 mark, with another Belanger goal, this time off an assist from senior John Guido. FDU continued to attack, netting another goal one-minute later, off a Guido assist, this time to sophomore Zane Johnston. Montclair State held a 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Senior Adam Reifer kept the game at one, saving three shots on goal in the first five-minutes of the second quarter.  The Red Hawks would finally break through, scoring three goals in two-minutes to increase their lead to four, 7-3. It was Reifer again at the 3:10 mark, blocking away another Montclair State scoring chance. The Devils would turn that save into immediate offense, with an unassisted goal from senior Pat Stewart 30-seconds later. Reifer would stop another Red Hawk attempt with one-minute remaining to keep the score 7-4 at the halftime break.

SECOND HALF
Less than three-minutes into the second half of play, FDU cut the lead to two on another unassisted goal from Stewart. Montclair State had the response, netting an opportunity of their own just two-minutes later to build the lead back up to three, 8-5. The Red Hawks scored the games next three goals, taking an 11-5 advantage heading into the fourth quarter of play.

The final frame remained scoreless for the first five minutes, with another save from Reifer at the 9:47 mark. FDU would get on the board twice in the last ten-minutes, thanks to another goal from Johnston at 8:57 and Bukowiec at 3:09, off another Guido assist. The Red Hawks held serve the rest of the game to secure the victory.

LEAD DEVILS
Johnston, Belanger and Stewart finished the day with two goals apiece, totaling a combined 15 shots and 12 shots on goal.

BRICK WALL
Reifer kept FDU in it all game, tallying 16 saves on 27 shots.

FROM COACH
"The team did a great job tonight of self-correcting their mistakes from the Muhlenberg game. The outcome wasn't what we wanted, but we showed we can play with anyone when we are dialed in. We gave them too many second chance opportunities and we didn't finish when we had our opportunities. All fixable things that we will continue to work on." – Head Coach Pat Scarpello

UP NEXT
FDU heads to Farmingdale Sate College on Sunday, February 19, for a 2:30 p.m. game. To follow all the action, visit fdudevils.com.