Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University (11-7) rallied from a seven-goal deficit to defeat Montclair (4-10) 12-10 in the first round of the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Tournament. The No 3 seed Ospreys trailed 8-1 but outscored No. 6 seed Montclair 11-2 in the last 26 minutes of the game.
Brendan McHale (Montville/Montville) led Stockton with three goals and one assist for a team-high four points.
Connor Albrecht (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) scored three goals and
Reegan Capozzoli (Wayne/Wayne Valley) added two markers.
Stockton went scoreless for the first 27 minutes of the game, largely due to the work of Montclair goalkeeper Brandon Shevins with 12 saves, and trailed 5-0 before Capozzoli got the Ospreys on the board. The Red Hawks netted the next three goals for an 8-1 count early in the third quarter.
Goals by
Tommy Vandegrift (Abington, Pa./LaSalle College Prep),
Liam DiFonzo (Springfield, Pa./Springfield Delco) and
Shane Phillips (Springfield, Pa./Springfield Delco) made it 8-4 before Montclair halted the three-goal run.
Stockton then forged a 9-9 tie with five straight goals, two each from Albrecht and McHale plus one for Capozzoli. The Red Hawks briefly crept in front 10-9 but McHale's third marker came 43 seconds later and tied it again at 10-10 with 6:37 remaining.
Albrecht gave Stockton its first lead of the game at 11-10 with 5:35 to play and
Noam Levy-Smith (Margate/Ocean City) tacked on an insurance goal with 2:23 on the clock to seal the 12-10 victory.
Freshman goalkeeper
Ben Blum (Mt. Laurel/Lenape) made a career-high 14 saves to earn the win in a scintillating goalie duel with Shevins, who finished with 20 stops for Montclair.
Matt Gibson (Cape May Point/Lower Cape May) paced the Osprey defense with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Ethan Mounier topped the Red Hawks with two goals and four assists for a game-high six points. Ryan Vierbuchen and Brandon Lewandowski each scored twice for the Red Hawks.
Stockton advanced to the semifinals of the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Tournament, where the Ospreys will play No. 7 nationally-ranked Christopher Newport on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
