Ewing, NJ… Gaining possession on each of the first nine draw controls, The College of New Jersey women's lacrosse team cashed in on each of them racing out to a big lead early as the Lions coasted to a 17-3 win over visiting Neumann University.
 
The win put the ninth-ranked Lions at 11-4 on the season, while the Knights dropped to 12-4.
 
TCNJ opened the scoring 3:51 into the game as sophomore Kendal Borup (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) scored on a feed from senior Jillian Nealon (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central).
 
That goal started a run of 12 straight in the opening half with Borup leading the charge at the break scoring four times in the opening half, while junior Jen Garavente (Monroe Twp., NJ/Monroe Twp.) chipped in with three. Even though she didn't score in the half, Nealon was heavily involved, dishing out five assists.
 
In the second half, Neumann scored 5:12 into the fresh half on a goal from Andrea Lorusso (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson), but the Lions then rattled off four straight for its biggest lead of the game at 16-1. Scoring for the Lions in that run were junior Lauren Pigott (Jobstown, NJ/Northern Burlington), Nealon, Borup, and Garavente.
 
The Knights then sandwiched a pair of goals around a tally by Nealon to make the final margin 17-3.
 
Borup and Garavente each netted four goals, while Nealon (2 goals and 5 assists) recorded her second straight seven-point effort.

Garavente's first goal back in the opening half was the 100th of her career for the Lions and by the end of the game raised that total to 103. She also has scored a career-high 41 goals this season and has scored at least 25 in each of her three seasons.
 
Pigott was a force on draws collecting six, while Nealon did her part with four.
 
Samantha Kotowski (Wilmington, DE/A. I Dupont) finished with 11 saves for the Knights.
 
The Lions are idle this weekend and return to action on Tuesday, April 23, hosting Stevens Institute of Technology at 7 p.m.