MAHWAH, N.J. – The TCNJ field hockey team won its sixth game in a row following a 4-0 shutout victory on the road at Ramapo Saturday afternoon. The win also marks the third straight shutout by the Lions in conference play.
Led by an offense that saw four different Lions score and a lockdown defense which has now shut out eight total opponents on the season, TCNJ (10-5, 4-1 NJAC) continued its recent dominance by extending its win streak to six while also winning seven of the past eight games. The Lions also added to their win streak against Ramapo (10-5, 2-3), having now won 18 straight games in the series.
Sophia Foschini struck first for the Lions, scoring off an assist from
Jess Hatch to give TCNJ an early lead just three minutes into the match. The goal marks Foschini's fifth on the season and third in the past four games.
In the second,
Sophie Popp doubled the Lions' lead after scoring her fifth goal of the season as well. The super senior ended the game with all three of her shots on target.
TCNJ entered halftime with a 12-4 advantage in shots taken.
For the fifth game in a row,
Carly Cole found the back of the cage for a score. The sophomore became the first Lion to reach double digit goals on the season after capitalizing on an assist from
Claire Engebreth a little over three minutes into the second half. The goal gave TCNJ a 3-0 lead.
Engebreth added on a score of her own nine minutes later, scoring off Hatch's second assist of the match to give the Lions its fourth and final goal of the game.
For the Lions,
Dani Britton collected eight saves and earned her fifth shutout win on the year.
Rayhanah Ahmed finished with a game-high four shots.
The victory marks the 12th season in a row since 2009 that the Lions have reached the double-digit win mark.
TCNJ will close out the 2022 regular season next Saturday at home, when the team honors its eight seniors for senior day against Montclair State. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time.
Barring a loss by three or more goals next weekend, the Lions enter the season finale with a firm grasp on the No. 2 seed in the conference and a chance to host an NJAC semifinal.
