Frostburg, MD...Taking advantage of its chances has been something The College of New Jersey women's lacrosse team has excelled in the early stages of the season. The Lions wrapped up their season-opening four-game road trip with a 19-5 win at Frostburg State University on Saturday as they return home with an unblemished 4-0 record.
 
A major strength for TCNJ through each of those wins has been making the most of their shots as they entered the game against the Bobcats having scored 54 goals on just 77 shots on goal. That was the case again on Saturday as the team scored on 19 of its 25 shots on goal.
 
The Lions got off to a blistering pace scoring on their first four shots racing out to a 4-1 lead in just under 13 minutes.
 
Senior Leigh Mitchell (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) opened the scoring 35 seconds into the contest with an assist from classmate Sara Keating (Montclair, NJ/Montclair). Mitchell then went back to her traditional feeder role as she set up the next three TCNJ goals with sophomore Lauren Pigott (Jobstown, NJ/Northern Burlington) sandwiching a pair around one by Kathleen Notos (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic).
 
That goal prompted Frostburg State to take a time out, but the Lions were the ones that came out with a spark scoring back-to-back goals with Erin Waller (Washington Twp., NJ/Washington Twp.) getting the first and Keating the second.
 
After the Bobcats made it 6-2, the Lions continued the accurate shooting as Jen Garavente (Monroe Twp., NJ/Monroe Twp.), Notos, and Jillian Nealon (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) each scored. Those goals made it 9-2 and at that point the Lions had only directed 13 shots at the Frostburg State cage.
 
TCNJ opened the second half scoring on its first three shots with Keating notching the first of those goals and Pigott the next two.
 
The Lions went on to score the first six of the half and the teams played a much more even final 17 minutes with TCNJ holding a close 4-3 edge in that time. One of the goals for the Lions came off of the stick of Lydia Carra (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) as it was her first collegiate goal.
 
Pigott had a huge game for the Lions as she scored six times and set up two others, while snaring eight draw controls and forcing a turnover. Keating finished with five points on four goals and an assist and Notos scored four times. Mitchell had another big game distributing the ball with nine assists and she tallied once.
 
Sophomore Kelsey Zinck (Burke, VA / James W. Robinson) registered four saves for the win between the pipes.
 
Next up for the Lions is the home opener against New Jersey Athletic Conference opponent Kean University on Tuesday, March 13. Game time is set for 7 p.m.