EWING, N.J. – The No. 16 TCNJ field hockey team fell to No. 4 Salisbury, 2-1, narrowly losing yet another hard-fought ranked matchup at home on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions (3-4) were led by Rayhanah Ahmed, who made her return after a two-game absence. The sophomore scored TCNJ's lone goal of the game and led the team with three shots and two on goal. 

It was another tough setback for the Lions, who have lost four straight one-goal games, including the last three against nationally ranked opponents.

Salisbury (8-0) struck first at the 9-minute mark in the first quarter when Molly Reardon scored an unassisted goal off of a rebound.

The Sea Gulls added onto their lead a little over six minutes into the second frame when Allie Williams scored on a penalty stroke, putting TCNJ into a two-goal hole.

The Lions responded later in the quarter when the sophomore duo of Carly Cole and Ahmed connected to trim the Salisbury lead in half. The goal marked Ahmed's second of the season and Cole was credited with her first assist.

Despite entering halftime losing the shots battle with three fewer than Salisbury (8-5) and four less penalty corners taken (5-1), TCNJ kept itself within striking distance to tie the game.

The second half of the game saw the Lions step up their defensive efforts as the team didn't give up another goal and limited the Sea Gulls to only three total shots and one penalty corner for the half. But on the other end of the field, the TCNJ offense wasn't able to score the game-tying goal.  

Salisbury played shorthanded twice in the second half, with yellow cards accessed to Mack Dinopoulos and McKenzie Mitchell at the 43:52 mark in the third and 54:49 mark in the fourth, respectively. However, the Lions were unable to capitalize on those advantages and attempted only two shots total in the half.

For the Lions, junior Sophia Foschini and sophomore Claire Engebreth each had one shot on goal. Goalie Dani Britton finished with a total of seven saves.

TCNJ heads out on the road this Wednesday as the Lions play Albright at 4 p.m.