Box Score

Allentown, PA (2/22/12) - Freshman midfielder Michael Schreck (Flemington, NJ, Hunterdon Central) had two goals and an assist in his collegiate debut however an early third-qaurter outburst by Muhlenberg College was too much to overcome as Montclair State dropped its season opener to the Mules, 9-5 at Scotty Wood Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Doug Rheiner scored three goals of goals while Alex Ardolino added two and an assist as the Mules won their season opener for the first time since 2007 and spoiled the head coaching debut of Montclair State’s Chris Kivlen, who took over the program last August.

A slow-moving first period, the Red Hawks outshot the Mules 10-6 however it was the hosts who would get the first goal as Ardolino scored 4:20 into the game for a 1-0 lead. That lead would be extended late in the second as Michael Carpetto scored with 3:44 to play.

Montclair would finally get on the board with 10 seconds left as John Barney (Ridgewood, NJ, Delbarton) ripped a shot from the left side with 10 seconds left as MSU found itself down 2-1 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Muhlenberg took advantage of a Red Hawk penalty as Rhiener scored the first of his two goal with 10:16 to play. Rheiner added his second, this one a man-down as the lead grew to 4-1 and Carpetto’s goal 43 seconds later gave the Mules a 5-1 lead with 8:05 to go.

The Red Hawks would respond with the next two goals as Schreck scored with 7:14 remaining and Tyler Meth (Basking Ridge, NJ, Ridge) with 5:34 left as Montclair closed the gap to 5-3. However Jack Reilly and Rheiner scored 10 seconds apart as Muhlenberg led 7-4 at the end of three period.

Ardolino’s goal to open the fourth made the score 8-4 near the midpoint of the quarter. Senior Matt Prongay (Edison, NJ, Edison) got a goal back for the Red Hawks but that would be as close as Montclair would get.

Senior goalkeeper Mark Glander (Vernon, NJ, Vernon Township) stopped 17 shots for MSU, which went 0-for-5 in man-up opportunities. Defender Sean Gilmore (Elmwood Park, NJ, Bergen Catholic) forced three turnovers for the Red Hawks.

The Red Hawks return to action on Saturday, February 25 as they host No. 19 Rensselaer at Sprague Field in their home opener at 1:00 pm.