MONTCLAIR, N.J. (3/12/21) – Brady Moore tallied a hat-trick as the Kean University men's lacrosse team scored nine first half goals to capture its first victory over Montclair State University since 2008 with a 9-7 decision on Friday evening.

Moore finished with three goals and three groundballs for the Cougars who improve to 2-0 overall. Robert Brennan totaled four points on four goals as the Red Hawks fall to 0-1 overall.

Kean notched five goals in the opening quarter as the Cougars closed with four unanswered goals to hold a 5-2 advantage. Connor Batjer, Kyle Ryder, Thomas Francy and Danny Bill all scored in the final six minutes of the quarter.

The highlight of the quarter saw Francy tally the first goal of his career with a shot from 55 yards out.  

The second quarter saw Kean extend its lead to 7-2 with early goals by Jonathan Duffy and Dante Magliano. The rest of the half saw the Cougars and Red Hawks trade goals with Moore scoring two more times before halftime. Kean maintained a 9-4 lead into the locker room.

The second half saw Montclair score three times, including two in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 9-7 with 6:16 remaining. The Cougars defense did the work in the final six minutes holding MSU scoreless and snapping an 18 game losing streak.

Batjer and Ryder both finished with three points on two goals and one assist. On the defensive side, Matt Palmieri led the way with eight groundballs and two caused turnover.  In goal, Francy, finished with 14 saves in 60 minutes of work.

Head Coach Shelley Sheiner and the Cougars will return to action on Saturday, Mar. 20^th, hosting the Highlanders of Cairn University at 7:00 p.m.