MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The top-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse team improved to 16-0 in the 2025 season, dispatching Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) foe Montclair State in a Saturday morning matchup at Sprague Field, 26-9.
The Sea Gulls (16-0, 5-0 CLC) got on the board first when
Ty Keaton dished a helper to
Ryan Della for the game's first goal. The hosts parried SU's early score with three unanswered goals to grant the Red Hawks (8-7, 0-5 CLC) a 3-1 edge with 8:12 left in the opening quarter.
Riley Strub ignited a five-goal Sea Gull run spanning just over two minutes, dumping in a pair of goals and aiding a Della tally before
Connor Herraiz set the table for
Michael Leahy on consecutive trips down to establish a 6-3 SU lead through 15 minutes of play.
Strub tacked on his third goal and fourth point to keep the Sea Gull run rolling early in the second stanza.
Chris Wong found Herraiz on the doorstep to push the lead to five just 27 seconds later while
Brice Bromwell joined the scoring column 41 seconds after to extend the lead, 9-3.
Bromwell netted his second goal and assisted a pair of man-up strikes by Keaton and Strub to open a six-goal SU swing to bring the opening half to a close after Montclair State's fourth tally.
John DeFazio also added an EMO goal in the stint while Leahy aided a
Lucas Ingley net-rustle and
Seamus Johnston logged his third career assist on a Herraiz finish to set the halftime margin, 15-4.
The hosts found their fifth goal to begin the second half before a 5-2 SU run headlined by a DeFazio-
Jacob Michalski transition tally helped the Sea Gulls sprint out to a 13-goal through 45 minutes. Della brought his goal total to four in the rally while Bromwell and Leahy each netted their third scores.
Brayden Velasquez aided
Nick Donofrio's first career goal less than two minutes into the final frame before
Luke Hicks distributed his first career assist to
Joey Halloran, while
Patrick Jette logged his first career score at the 8:13 mark.
Preston Huffman found
Bishop Barnes with just under seven minutes to play while Halloran set up
Matt Buonocore's first score as a Sea Gull just 23 seconds later.
Robby Donnelly joined the fun with 5:36 remaining before the Red Hawks tacked on two goals in the final five minutes to set the 26-9 final score.
GAME NOTES
- Brice Bromwell logged a team-high six points on trios of goals and assists. Bromwell surpassed his older brother, Jarrett Bromwell '22, to officially claim 10th in program history in career goals (167). He also jumped Sam Bradman '12 to move to 10th in career assists (104) as well.
- Riley Strub tallied five points on four goals and one helper, good for his seventh effort with at least four goals in 2025. Strub entered the contest ranked 20th in Division III averaging 3.53 goals per game, a figure that will further improve after Saturday's effort.
- Ryan Della matched Strub's line, firing four goals while adding one assist. Della put all six of his shots on goal in the win and increased his '25 goal total to 42, tying Bromwell for the second-most goals on the squad.
- Ty Keaton recorded five points on one goal and a career-high four assists.
- Michael Leahy continued his recent tear, logging three goals and an assist while putting all five of his shots on cage. Leahy has piled up seven goals and eight total points in his last two outings.
- Blake Malamphy claimed 16 of his 20 faceoff attempts and scooped nine grounders, while Charles Fritchman won 10 of his 13 tries with a team-high 10 ground balls. Jimmy Son won three of his six tries in relief.
- John DeFazio chased down four ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers while netted his fifth goal and eighth assist of 2025.
- Jeremiah Stafford ran down five grounders for the maroon and gold.
- Mason Griffith matched DeFazio causing a pair of Red Hawk miscues in the win.
- Nicholas Ransom (16-0) improved to 57-1 in his Sea Gull career, turning away four Red Hawk tries across the opening 34:45 for SU. Matt Sentowski and Alex Swartz each recorded saves in relief, while Aidan O'Connor made his fourth career appearance to close the game out.
- The Sea Gulls outshot the Red Hawks 58-25, netted three extra-man goals, finished 16-of-16 on clears, won 29 of 39 faceoffs and won the ground ball battle, 45-24.
The Sea Gulls turn their focus to the regular season finale, traveling to Chestertown, Md. for the 57th installment of a historic rivalry, the "War on the Shore" against Washington College. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on Kibler Field at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 202 conference championships, and have produced 51 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
