Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey field hockey team moved one step closer to wrapping up the top seed in the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament as the Lions defeated visiting William Paterson University 6-1 on Tuesday.
 
The victory put fourth-ranked TCNJ at 5-0 in conference play with one league game left on the schedule. That contest is set for Saturday, November 1 when the Lions travel to rival Rowan University. The Profs also have to play 12th-ranked Montclair State University, with that game set for Saturday at Montclair.
 
The winner of the regular season earns home-field advantage for the NJAC Tournament that gets underway on Wednesday, November 5. Overall, the Lions are 15-1 and have reeled off seven straight wins.
 
The loss puts the Pioneers at 1-4 in NJAC play and 6-9 overall.
 
TCNJ opened up a 2-0 lead in the first half with two goals in the initial 15 minutes as senior Lindsey Hatch (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) and sophomore Jaclyn Douglas (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) each scored. The Lions added one more tally in the later stages of the period when sophomore Danielle Andreula (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) set up senior Victoria Martin (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson). That goal made it a 3-0 margin at the break.
 
In the second half, the teams traded goals early, with senior Erin Waller (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) scoring for TCNJ and Elizabeth Kerr (Maple Shade, NJ/Maple Shade) countering for the Pioneers. Those two goals came 49 seconds apart with the latter coming with 29:13 showing on the clock.
 
The hosts tacked on goals by Andreula and Hatch to close out the 6-1 victory.
 
Sophomore Kelly Schlupp (Holland, PA/Council Rock South) picked up her 15^th win of the season in goal for the Lions.
 
In goal for the Pioneers, junior Meg Davies (Havertown, PA/Haverford) made 12 saves.
 
Both teams are idle until Sunday, October 26 as the Lions host Juniata College at 1 p.m. and the Pioneers are at Stevens Institute of Technology for a noon start.