Amherst, MA...  The College of New Jersey continued its march through the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament with a solid 13-7 win over Washington & Lee University on Saturday in Amherst, MA.
 
The fourth-ranked Lions (19-1) extended their winning streak to eight straight, while the 12^th-ranked Generals (17-3) saw their 13-game winning streak come to an end.
 
TCNJ is right back on the field on Sunday, May 18 at 2 p.m. when they play Amherst College, which posted a 12-3 win over York (PA) College. The winner of that game will then move into the national semifinals on May 24 in Gettysburg, PA.
 
The Lions had several players standout during the game with freshman goalie Kelly Schlupp (Holland, PA/Council Rock South) stepping up on the defensive side of the ball with a career-high nine saves. Seven of those came in the second half when Washington & Lee was attempting to extend its season.
 
On the offensive end of the field, juniors Ava Fitzgerald (Merrick, NY/Calhoun) and Kendal Borup (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) each finished with three goals, while classmate Erin Waller (Washington Twp., NJ/Washington Twp.) scored once and set up two others.
 
The first half saw each team to go on scoring runs with the Lions taking the initial honors netting six of the game's first seven goals. The team's incredible balance once again shined through with five different players scoring. Fitzgerald opened the scoring 3:36 into the game and only 37 seconds later that lead doubled when junior Erin Healy (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan) tallied unassisted.
 
Borup made it 3-0, but the Generals broke that string of goals by TCNJ with 22:15 left in the half.
 
TCNJ struck quickly for three more goals, with those coming in a span of 2:07. Waller set up senior Jen Garavente (Monroe Twp., NJ/Monroe Twp.) and sophomore Cortney Natalicchio (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) for back-to-back goals, before Borup scored to make it 6-1.
 
Washington & Lee made a push with four consecutive goals with three of them coming from sophomore Carly Taglienti (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown).
 
Maintaining a one-goal lead, the Lions finished the half strong, accounting for the final three goals of the period. Senior Lauren Pigott (Jobstown, NJ/Northern Burlington) got the first of those with 3:17 left, while Waller and Borup each scored in the final minute for a 9-5 lead. Borup's goal actually came in the waning seconds of the period when she scored with just four seconds remaining.
 
The goals were much harder to come by for both teams in the second half with the Generals scoring 8:45 into the period when Margaret Klein (North Andover, MA/Brooks) made it 9-6.
 
The Lions got the goal back 2:20 later on Fitzgerald's second goal of the game and then added another when Garavente tallied with 11:41 left in regulation.
 
Fitzgerald completed the hat trick minutes later when she bumped TCNJ's advantage to 12-6 with 8:30 showing on the clock.
 
The teams traded goals one last time with Healy making it 13-6 with 5:58 left and Taglienti scored her fourth of the game for the Generals to close out the scoring.
 
In goal for Washington & Lee, junior Cara Mulligan finished with five saves.
 
TCNJ sets record for goals in a season
The Lions set a program record for most goals in a season as they raised their total to 340. Borup's goal that made it 3-0 in the first half was the record breaker as TCNJ eclipsed the old mark of 329 set in 2011. This year's team bested that record in one less game and they have been very consistent this year reaching double figures in 19 of its 20 games.
 
Lions remain perfect against Generals
These teams have met only a half dozen times in the last 23 years, but TCNJ has won all six games against Washington & Lee. Three of those wins have come in NCAA Tournament play. So far that has proven to be a good omen for the Lions as they beat the Generals in both the 1991 and 2006 tournaments on their way to claiming the national title.
 
TCNJ dominant on draw controls
A big key to the win for the Lions was their ability to gain possession. TCNJ held a 15-7 edge in draw controls, including a 10-5 advantage in the first half. Healy led all players with five, while sophomore Megan Devlin (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) chipped in with three.