NEWARK, N.J. – Gianna Coppola had a hand in all three first-half goals – two of them off the foot of Victoria D'Imperio – and the No. 15 TCNJ women's soccer team stayed red-hot with a 5-0 NJAC victory at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday night.

Coppola was one of three players – alongside Lindsay O'Keefe and Emma Pascarella – who scored a goal and assisted on another for the Lions, who extended their winning streak to nine games with another prolific performance. TCNJ has put up at least five goals in five consecutive outings, outscoring its opponents by a 29-2 count during that stretch.

The Lions (10-1-1, 4-0) needed all of 97 seconds to get out in front, with Coppola accepting a square ball from O'Keefe and ripping a right-footed rocket into the upper left corner of the net from about 25 yards out.

Coppola's stunning strike, her seventh of the season, was the quickest of the season for a TCNJ squad that has scored five goals inside the first 10 minutes of games and three within the first five minutes.

Coppola was directly involved again as the Lions doubled their lead just shy of the half-hour mark, winning the ball in the attacking third and maneuvering her way through a host of Scarlet Raiders before sending a pinpoint cross from the end line on the right side of the box. The ball was on a platter for D'Imperio, who easily headed it into the left side of the netting to extend her goal-scoring streak to four games.

Ella Van Dine nearly had a third barely a minute later, but her hard right-footed shot from in close was denied by a tremendous reflex save by Newark goalie Katie McLaughlin.

The advantage still swelled to three in a matter of minutes as Coppola played a pass back to D'Imperio, who tucked a shot from just outside the box beyond the reach of McLaughlin and into the upper right corner to make it a first-half brace.

The high-octane Lions put the game away with one of their trademark flurries, scoring twice in less than two minutes to expand the margin to 5-0. Pascarella was party to both, finding a cutting O'Keefe right in front of the net with a long pass on the ground from near the corner flag on the left side. A little more than 100 seconds later, Coppola sent Sophie Vieira on a run down the left side, and Vieira's left-footed effort – likely bound for the corner of the netting – was tapped in by Pascarella at the far post.

D'Imperio again showed off her ability to score in bunches, notching her second straight multi-goal game and third of the season. Coppola has a goal in three contests in a row, while Pascarella carries a five-game assist streak during which she has racked up four goals and six assists.

Pascarella and Vieira tallied four shots apiece for TCNJ, which held a 24-12 edge in that category.

Despite putting their stamp on the game early, the Lions were forced to remain sharp throughout against a Scarlet Raider side that came in with two NJAC victories already under its belt. Newark forced goalkeeper Corinne Byrum into four saves in the first half, and Caroline Rebele was called into action to break up a dangerous 2-on-1 opportunity early in the second stanza, managing to dispossess the Scarlet Raider attacker with a sliding tackle on the right flank.

Byrum matched her career high with five saves in earning her second shutout of the season.

The Lions stay on the road for an NJAC match at Stockton on Wednesday.