No. 14 Denison survived a scare from Montclair State as they held off the Red Hawks for a 10-9 win from Coppermine Field in Baltimore, Md.

A goal by Denison attackman Nick Bortolani with 7:19 to play gave the Big Red a 10-7 lead with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter.  A penalty on the ensuing faceoff gave Montclair State a one minute man-up opportunity.  Two shots by the Red Hawks sailed high but their fourth try, with five minutes left in the game, found back of the net.

The Big Red maintained possession for the next 90 seconds until a caused turnover by Montclair's Ryan Totin resulted in a Don Finn goal with 2:30 left in the game.

Clinging to the one-goal advantage, the Big Red was flagged for a faceoff violation and this time, it resulted in a 30-second penalty.  The EMO for Montclair would fail and a stick check by Denison's Thomas Farrell gave the ball back to the Big Red with 1:21 to play.  The Big Red opted to try and score and after Owen Armstrong's shot was blocked, Montclair took over possession with 1:09 left.

Finn uncorked a shot from the right wing that went wide.  MSU retained possession and called a timeout.  After the timeout, Denison defensive midfielder Josh Happ checked MSU's Zach Schreck, causing the ball to hit the turf.  Happ was there to scoop up the ground ball with just under a minute to play, allowing the Big Red to run out the clock and secure the victory.

Midway through the second quarter, after Liam Rooney's first goal of the season, Denison took a 4-3 lead it would never relinquish.  Rooney finished with two goals and one assist in his first game of 2016.   Blair Farinholt led DU with two goals, two assists, and a game-high six ground balls.  James Meager scored twice and added one assist and two ground balls while Bortolani ended with two goals on two shots. He also chipped in four ground balls and one caused turnover.

Happ led Denison's defense with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Chris Thomas posted 10 saves in the cage while facing 19 shots of goal. 

Montclair State outshot Denison 35-32 while winning 15-of-21 faceoffs.  MSU's Blasé Mantineo was 15-for-20 at the X. 

The ground ball battle was won by Denison, 30-26 and the Big Red's man-down unit answered the call, limiting the Red Hawks to a 1-for-7 showing while in extra-man.  Denison scored in its only extra-man situation as Farinholt gave his team a 2-1 lead late in the first quarter.

Finn paced MSU with four goals.  Jack Cardew finished with eight saves.

Denison improves to 4-1 while Montclair State falls to 1-5.  The Big Red will return to action on Friday when they take on Dickinson at the Greene Turtle Classic hosted by Stevenson University.  Faceoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills, Md.