Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's lacrosse team captured its sixth consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference championship, defeating Montclair State University, 10-6 on Saturday afternoon in Lions Stadium.
 
With the NJAC title, the Lions (18-1) earn the conference automatic qualification to the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse National Championship Tournament. TCNJ has qualified for the NCAA tournament every season since 1985.
 
It took a complete team effort for the Lions to fight off a hard-nosed Red Hawk squad. Trailing 7-2 with 4:46 remaining in the opening half, Montclair (12-6) rattled off three unanswered goals to close the gap to 7-5 just 34 seconds into the closing period. TCNJ regrouped and responded with three straight goals of their own to secure the victory and conference title.
 
Sophomore Amanda Muller (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) and freshman Kathleen Jaeger (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) each scored three goals in the game. Senior Megan Devlin (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) also tallied twice and won five draw controls.
 
Defensive standout Elizabeth Morrison (Stonington, CT/Stonington) caused five turnovers in the match and picked up four ground balls, while freshman goalie Miranda Chrone (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) made three critical saves in the contest.
 
Muller scored three of the game's first four goals. Sophomore Emily Kratz (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) found the back of the net with 15:43 remaining in the half to stretch the Lions' lead to 5-0.
 
Red Hawk Francesca Verrone got MSU on the board with 5:59 left in the period. TCNJ's Jaeger retaliated with her second goal, but Verrone scored twice more period the intermission to make it a 7-4 games.
 
Just after the break, Montclair's Kara Crampton scored off of a free position shot to cut the deficit to two. Devlin answered just over nine minutes later to make it a three-goal cushion.
 
Jaeger and Devlin scored 56 seconds apart to put the game out of reach. Verrone scored her fourth goal of the game with 1:11, but the Lions held on for their sixth straight title.
 
Rebecca Myers had an excellent game for the Red Hawks, stopping seven shots.
 
TCNJ will now await the NCAA selection show on Monday, May 9 to find out the tournament brackets, seeding, and sites.