A wall of rain swallowed Sprague Field at Montclair State University, as the Red Hawks rushed together in celebration, while fans leaving the stands would read 21-3 on the scoreboard, signifying the end of Montclair State’s sensational victory against the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Fordham Devils.
Montclair State welcomed fans to a home opener they would not forget on Saturday morning, laying down the thunder where it was missing from the rain. The field was still visible, yet dangerously wet as players on both sides were already seen sliding around during warm ups before the game.
The Red Hawks began an immediate assault with four consecutive goals against the Devils in the opening eight minutes. Sophomore midfielder Jackson Simons, claimed two of those goals, which is a career high. However, the Devils were able to keep their composure, gaining a man-up play that would allow them to find an opening in the five-man defense, earning their first goal.
Senior midfielder Jack Cleary finished the game with a hat trick. Trevor Giesberg | The Montclarion
“I thought we started a little slow, weather induced or not,” head coach Matt Poskay said. “Once we got into a groove a little bit, we started to click and then started to obviously produce a little faster.”
All efforts went into making sure that the ball was in Red Hawk possession. Senior face-off specialists, David Driscoll and Lucas Novak, led that front by controlling over fifty percent of the face-offs for Montclair State through all four quarters. Driscoll winning 10-15 face-offs and Novak securing 8-12, were supported at midfield with ground ball possessions that truly impressed Poskay.
“The fifty-fifties might bounce your way but the ones that should be ours, have to be ours, especially on a day like today, and I think we did a good job and our guys started to feel it a little bit,” Poskay said.
But as the Red Hawks poured down on the Devils, leading 13-2 in the first half, so did the rain storm that continued to drench the field at halftime. This led to a slippery transition going into the second, with a few more turnovers than expected.
“If you’re slipping, they’re slipping too,” Poskay said. “And we’d rather have the ball than anything else. I think we took care of it. We got sloppy at times, but there were times we rallied a little bit and were able to put some numbers up.”
Once Montclair State got past that slippery slope, the sun began to shine for sophomore attacker Ryan Vierbuchen. As he opened fire on the Devils, he tallied five goals to match the five he previously scored last game in the win against Penn College.
“I mean, I’ll get a goal when I get a goal,” Vierbuchen said. “You know, what comes around goes around. So I just try to look for the open teammates and everyone at the end of the day had a good day.”
Montclair State huddles seconds before the start of the game. Trevor Giesberg | The Montclarion
Vierbuchen was not the only one who had decided to show out for the home opener.
“Shout out to Louis [Azara] with the hat-trick,” Vierbuchen said.
Sophomore classmate, Louis Azara, closed out the fourth quarter with a lightning strike of a shot from the 20-yard line. As rain spewed off the back of the net like a geyser, Azara marked his first career hat-trick along with his first three goals of the season.
The Red Hawks are now 2-0, looking to grab a third win in Scranton, PA, against the University of Scranton on Wednesday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m.
