(Montclair, N.J.) – The Dickinson men's lacrosse team came out on top of an early season thriller at Montclair State, holding on for an 8-7 win. Both teams received votes in last week's USILA National Coaches Poll, setting the stage for a great match-up on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Hawks had possession late, but the Red Devils forced a turnover and were able to run out the clock, starting the season 2-0.

Don Finn struck twice to put the hosts up, 2-0, with the first coming on an extra-man opportunity at the 8:33 mark. Sophomore Dylan Maher (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) put Dickinson on the board, scoring unassisted with 3:27 on the clock.

Montclair answered to take a 3-1 advantage but Maher would score off an assist from Brodie Phillips (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's Belfield) and John Lockwood (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) fed Tyler Strods (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) to knot the game, 3-3, at the end of the first.

The Red Hawks started with possession in the second quarter, but a quick turnover put the ball in the sticks of the Red Devils. The defenses ruled the second quarter with just one goal going up on the board. That came at the 3:24 mark as senior Tyler Llewellyn (Cockeysville, Md./Loyola Blakefield) finished an assist from Tucker Carney (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) to give the Devils a 4-3 advantage at the break.

The Devils won the opening face-off of the second half and Strods scored on their first possession to stretch the lead to 5-3. Montclair capitalized on an extra-man opportunity, scoring at the 10:35 mark of the third quarter.

First-year Nick Goles (Monkton, Md./Loyola Blakefield) picked up a loose ball and found the back of the net with 5:15 to play in the quarter, extending the margin to 6-4.

Finn dished out an assist to James Clarke to cut the deficit to one, with 2:50 left to play in the third, but Maher drove the crease and scored his second goal of the game with just over a minute remaining in the period.

The Devils claimed the ensuing face-off and drew a holding penalty in the final seconds of the quarter to gain a free position to start the fourth. Strods would start things off again, putting Dickinson up, 8-5, scoring unassisted with 11:15 remaining in the game.

The Red Hawks scored with just over 10 minutes to play as they looked to keep the Devils within striking distance. Montclair drew a slashing penalty with 3:15 to go and capitalized with just over two minutes remaining, making it a one-goal game at 8-7.

The Red Devil defense came up big with Dane Huber (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) forcing a huge turnover to give Dickinson possession with just 25 seconds left to play.

They were able to run out the clock and hold on as they improve to 2-0 on the season.

Maher and Strods each recorded hat-tricks to lead the attack while sophomore Jack Doran (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford School) anchored the defensive effort, causing three turnovers. Junior goaltender Andrew Jones (Odenton, Md./Arundel) made six saves in the nets.

The Red Devils improve to 2-0 on the year. They return to Carlisle for their home opener next Saturday, hosting #8-ranked Cabrini College at 1:00 pm.