Montclair, N.J. – The Mount Saint Mary Men's Lacrosse team was dealt its third straight loss on Saturday following a 19-7 road defeat at Montclair State. Danny Kugler (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and Joseph Rizzotti (East Meadow, N.Y.) each rounded out the day with three points for the Knights.
 
The Red Hawks quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Mount got on the board with a Kugler tally with 9:29 left in the opening stanza. Following the Knights initial marker of the game, Montclair State scored the next six goals to open a 9-1 lead with just under eight minutes left before halftime.
 
Rizzotti notched his first goal of the afternoon with 7:18 remaining in the second frame, but the Knights saw Montclair State reel off the final five goals of the first half to carry a commanding 14-2 lead into the halftime intermission.
 
The Red Hawks finished the first half with a 28-7 advantage in shots, a 28-12 edge in groundballs and won 14 of the 18 face-offs taken.
 
Montclair State tallied the first two goals of the third quarter to open a 16-2 lead and build its advantage to 19-3 before the Knights tallied the final four goals of the game. Sebastian Cina Jr. (Colts Neck, N.Y.) tallied twice late in the third period for the Mount.
 
Kugler and Rizzotti each closed the day with a pair of goals and an assist, with Cina potting a pair of goals. Kugler, Rizzotti and freshman Brodie Nuzzi (Levittown, N.Y.) led the team with four groundballs each, with Nuzzi pacing the team with two caused turnovers.
 
The Red Hawks were paced by eight points, including five goals, from Brett Mangan who added three caused turnovers. Blase Mantineo and Ryan Totin led the team with seven groundballs each, with Mantineo going 17-for-23 in face-offs.
Christopher Doerr (Pleasantville, N.Y.) finished off the game with four saves in 45 minutes of work, with A.J. Galletta (Commack, N.Y.) coming on to make five stops in the fourth quarter. Montclair State goalie, Lucas Jones, made eight saves in the win.
 
Overall, Montclair State held the advantage in the game in shots 46-27, groundballs 47-34and face-offs 18-10. Senior Brendan Nestola (Merrick, N.Y.) won all 10 of the Knights' draws in the game.
 
Saturday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 10-5 overall and to 1-4 in conference play. The Knights will round out the regular season on April 30 when they play host to Stockton. Face-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

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