Final Score
Monmouth (1-0) – 15
Manhattan (0-2) – 9
 
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Monmouth University Men's Lacrosse jumped out early and never relinquished control as the Hawks opened their 2026 season with a 15-9 road victory over Manhattan on Thursday afternoon at Gaelic Park.

The Hawks used an explosive first quarter to power them to the win, scoring eight goals in the opening 15 minutes to take an 8-3 lead and set the tone for the afternoon. Monmouth scored five unanswered goals late in the period, including three in the final 2:16, to break open what had been a 3-3 tie. Ty Caffarelli scored twice in that stretch, and three overall in the quarter, while Brendan Dundas and Nick Teets also found the back of the net.

Caffarelli led all scorers with seven goals – a new Monmouth single-game program record – on 10 shots on goal. Teets added three goals and two assists, while Connor Gorman contributed two goals and two assists as Monmouth's offense generated 41 shots and controlled play for much of the contest.

Monmouth extended its lead early in the second quarter, with Caffarelli and Teets scoring to push the advantage to 10-3. Teets capped the half with a buzzer-beater at the two-second mark, giving the Hawks an 11-4 halftime lead.

The Hawks continued to apply pressure in the third, with Caffarelli scoring a pair, including a feed from Matt Porazzo at the 13:13 mark. Riley Chester added an unassisted goal as MU stretched its lead to 14-6.

Monmouth closed out the game with Cafarelli's record-breaking seventh goal early in the fourth to go up by nine. The Jaspers scored three late goals, but the Hawks led comfortably to the final horn.

Dylan Cadigan earned the win in goal for Monmouth, making six saves in 56:23 of action before Arjun Gill came in relief.

Quotes
"Glad to pick up a win on the opening day of our season. We played really well for stretches of the game and did a lot of really good things that we will build on come Monday. We also have some parts of our game to clean up and improve before the next one." – Head Coach Brian Fisher

Notes & Numbers
- Caffarelli broke Monmouth's single-game goal scoring record with seven. The record was previously six and held by Cade Stratton (vs. St. Bonaventure, 2021) and Bryce Wasserman (vs. Canisius, 2015).
- The eight-goal first quarter tied a program for the most goals in a single quarter by Monmouth (8 in the second quarter at Siena, 4/30/2016).
- Five Hawks recorded multi-point outings.
- Landon Parker went 11-for-13 for faceoff opportunities.
- Will Hohn Jr. set a career high with eight faceoff wins and went 8-for-10 for the contest.
- It was just the sixth time in program history where the Hawks won 20+ faceoffs in a game (20).
- Monmouth starts 1-0 on the road for the first time since 2021.
- Monmouth had more shot attempts, 41-32.
- Monmouth landed more shots on goal, 25-15.
- Both teams went 0-for-3 on the man advantage.
- The Hawks dominated the ground balls category, 30-13.
- MU successfully cleared 20-of-25 attempts, while Manhattan went 20-of-21.
- The Jaspers won the turnover battle, 18-14, and caused more TOs than Monmouth, 9-5.

Up Next
The Hawks make another trip to New York to take on the Long Island Sharks on Saturday, Feb. 14 at Shark Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row at 1 p.m.