Glassboro, NJ... The College of New Jersey field hockey team secured the top seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament as the Lions finished conference play with a perfect record thanks to a 2-0 road win at rival Rowan University on Saturday.
 
Fourth-ranked TCNJ and Rowan each entered the game with perfect 5-0 league records, but the Lions scored a goal in each half to wrap up the top spot in the tournament dropping the Profs to the second seed. Overall, TCNJ finished the regular season with a 17-1 record and extended its winning streak to nine straight. Rowan is 13-4.
 
The Lions will open the tournament on Wednesday, November 5 at Lions Stadium hosting fourth-seeded Kean University at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars went 3-3 in NJAC play with one of those losses being a narrow 2-1 defeat at home against the Lions.
 
Rowan will host Montclair State University in the other semifinal, with that game also taking place on Wednesday. The two winners from the semifinals will meet for the conference tournament and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament on November 8 at the highest remaining seed.
 
The only goal of the opening frame came in the first five minutes when sophomore Lexi Smith (Florence, NJ/Florence Twp.) put a shot from the right side of the cage into the lower left-hand corner. That goal was her eighth of the season and came 4:48 into the game.
 
The Lions added some insurance with 15:16 left in regulation when senior Lindsey Hatch (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) notched her NJAC-leading 27^th goal of the season.
 
Sophomore Kelly Schlupp (Holland, PA/Council Rock South) recorded her second shutout of the season as the defense in front of her did an outstanding job protecting their keeper as Schlupp needed to make only one save. The win bumped her record to 17-1 on the season.