WATERVILLE, Maine – The Western Connecticut State lacrosse team entered Saturday's NCAA Division III Sweet 16 matchup with TCNJ ranked third in NCAA Division III in scoring defense, allowing just 4.3 goals per game through its first 10 games, all WestConn victories.
 
It took the Lions' offense less than five minutes to beat that mark with their fifth goal, and the Lions scored the first seven goals of the game on their way to an 18-4 victory at Colby College.
 
That seven-goal offensive wave took TCNJ just over 10 minutes to complete, and WestConn's first goal of the game to make it 7-1 with 15:16 left in the first half would be as close as the Colonials would come to the Lions.
 
Erin Jaffe and Jillian Westerby each scored twice in that opening stretch. Westerby scored four times in the first half, finishing with five goals and an assist. Jaffe also netted five goals. Her fifth, coming with 5:56 remaining in the second half, gave her 100 career points.
 
Larissa Hatzold and Jennifer LaRocca each scored twice in the first half as the Lions led, 12-1, at the intermission. The lead extended to 15-1 midway through the second half.
 
The teams entered Saturday's match as two of the best in the nation in fewest turnovers committed. WestConn was eighth, committing just 11.9, and TCNJ was 14^th, at just 12.4. The Lions won that battle, committing only eight turnovers while WestConn turned it over 17 times, more than five turnovers higher than its season average.
 
LaRocca led the Lions with seven points (4G, 3A), and Hatzold added an assist to her pair of goals to give her three points.
 
With the victory, the Lions move into the NCAA Elite 8 for the 36^th time in program history. The Lions will face Tufts on Sunday at 6 p.m. with a trip to the Final Four on the line.