UNION, N.J. – The No. 6 TCNJ lacrosse team started Saturday's game at Kean on a run of six unanswered goals, then watched the Cougars twice get within a single marker before fending off the hosts' charge for a 13-9 NJAC victory.

Anna Wright matched her season high with five goals for the Lions (10-1, 3-0), who took over sole possession of first place in the NJAC standings.

Ally Tobler scored the first of her three goals to break the ice at the 10:37 mark of a first period completely dominated by TCNJ. Larissa Hatzold then got on the board and, after an unassisted tally by Natalie Berry, set up another Tobler goal for a 4-0 lead with 3:11 to go in the frame.

Less than a minute later, Wright had the first of her five goals on a feed from Jennifer LaRocca and added another with 39 seconds left in the stanza to stretch the Lions lead out to 6-0.

The second quarter was a different story altogether. After TCNJ held a 12-2 advantage in shots in the first 15 minutes, Kean (7-6, 2-1) turned the tables entirely in the second. The Cougars got on the board with 8:18 to play before halftime, igniting a run of five consecutive goals that got the home side within one (6-5) at the break. Dana Meehan bookended the Kean spurt, scoring the second of her first-half goals with 50 seconds on the clock.

The Lions tried to pull away early in the second half, but Kean refused to go quietly. After Jillian Westerby and Wright found the back of the cage just 29 seconds apart – and within the first 66 seconds of the second half – the Cougars did the same thing and grabbed consecutive tallies in a 42-second span to get within 8-7.

After a Westerby goal, the Cougars got back within one at 9-8 in the final minute of the third, but Wright gave the Lions a huge response on a woman-up marker with 17 seconds to go to send TCNJ into the final 15 minutes armed with a 10-8 lead.

The teams traded goals to open the fourth, with Kean answering a second by Berry, but Wright scored with 6:02 to go and Tobler added one for good measure with 5 seconds left for the final margin.

Tobler was all over the field, with a team-high four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and two draw controls.

Anna Devlin, the NJAC leader in draw controls, finished with a modest four for the day but caused four turnovers and picked up two ground balls to go with an assist.

LaRocca was held scoreless for the first time this season but still managed to hand out three assists, giving her multiple helpers in every game.

TCNJ held a slim edge in shots (30-28) and controlled a 17-9 surplus on the draw. Though the turnover totals were nearly even (18 for Kean, 15 for TCNJ), the Lions forced nine failed clears to gain a bevy of extra chances.

The Lions continue NJAC play with a home game against Stockton on Tuesday.