Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey women's lacrosse team took a big step in locking up the top seed in the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament by beating Montclair State University 13-7 on Saturday.
 
Both teams entered the game unbeaten in NJAC play and have secured opening-round byes in the tournament, but the Lions now need only one more win to lock up the first seed. TCNJ improved to 4-0 and took over first place with the win over the Red Hawks and it was the 27^th straight against a   conference opponent. Overall, TCNJ moved to 11-3.
 
The loss dropped the Red Hawks to 4-1 in conference action, putting them in second place with one league game remaining.  Montclair State, which had won six straight contests, is 8-5 overall.
 
TCNJ was very efficient offensively in the early going scoring on its first five shots of the game. Senior Kendal Borup (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) cashed in on a free-position attempt 1:06 into the game to open the scoring.
 
The Lions rapidly increased that margin to 5-0 with junior Cortney Natalicchio (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) sandwiching goals around single scores by senior Ava Fitzgerald (Merrick, NY/Calhoun) and sophomore Mia Blackman (Arlington, VA/Field School).
 
The Red Hawks got on the board with 14:35 left in the half as Francesca Verrone (Flanders, NJ/Mt. Olive) scored.
 
TCNJ then added three more goals to make it an 8-1 game, before Montclair State's Jenna Bussiere (Dayton, NJ/South Brunswick) tallied in the final minutes to make it six-goal difference at the half.
 
The final 30 minutes was even as each team scored five times in the second half. TCNJ's biggest lead in the period was eight at 11-3 and 12-4, while the closest the Red Hawks got was six goals on two occasions.
 
Natalicchio finished with a season-high five goals and six points, while Borup chipped in with three goals.
 
The trio of freshman Elizabeth Morrison (Stonington, CT/Stonington), junior Megan Devlin (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) and senior Erin Healy (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan) played a big role in getting TCNJ possession as they combined for 14 draw controls. Morrison and Devlin each collected five and Healy had four. Overall, the Lions held a 16-6 advantage in draws.
 
Montclair State's Tierney Conlon (Caldwell, NJ/Caldwell) had one goal and one assist as she moved into fifth place on the NCAA Division III career points list with 417.
 
TCNJ continues conference play on Tuesday, April 21 when Stockton University visits Lions Stadium for a 7 p.m. start. Montclair State returns home on Tuesday where they will face Elmira College at 7 p.m.