EWING, N.J. – Julia Charest posted her best performance of the season at a perfect time to help the No. 3 TCNJ women's lacrosse team outduel a game No. 22 Hamilton squad for an 8-6 non-conference victory on a windswept Wednesday in Ewing.

Charest racked up a dozen saves, easily a season high, to allow the Lions (5-0) to separate enough through the first three frames to render moot a late surge by the visiting Continentals.

Ally Tobler led the attack again with three goals, with Anna Wright (two goals) and Anna Devlin (one goal, two assists) lending support.

TCNJ was in control early, using a pair of free-position goals from Tobler and Devlin to take a 2-0 lead inside of five minutes. Morgan Vaccaro's highlight-reel scoop shot made it a 3-0 lead just past the midway point of the first quarter, and Vaccaro set up Tobler with a pinpoint pass that the prolific junior caught in traffic and quickly fired into the back of the net for a 4-0 lead with 1:26 remaining in the stanza.

After Hamilton (1-3) got on the board, Wright split the defense and sent a bouncing shot past the goalie to expand the advantage to 5-1. The score stayed there until half, due in large part to the brilliance of Charest. The junior was a rock between the pipes, making six saves in the first half and 10 in the first three quarters.

The Lions took a 7-2 lead into the fourth quarter after goals by Wright and Katherine Naiburg in the previous period, but the Continentals managed to make things uncomfortable. Hamilton embarked on a four-goal spree, led by Aine Cleary, to close within 7-6 with 6:20 to play.

The visitors controlled the ensuing draw and had the ball with a chance to tie, but Wayden Ay came through with a huge stick check to dislodge the ball. The Lions earned a free-position attempt and Tobler made no mistake, roofing a high shot into the twine to give the hosts some much-needed breathing room and a multi-goal lead with 4:14 to go.

TCNJ managed to see out the remaining time thanks to a caused turnover by Larissa Hatzold, and Charest made one more save for good measure as time expired.

Cleary had four goals for Hamilton, which played the Lions to a stalemate in shots (22-22) and held a 10-8 edge on the draw.

Ay was critical for the defense, registering four caused turnovers, while Hatzold scooped up four ground balls. Jillian Westerby also logged a pair of caused turnovers in front of Charest.

Tobler scored on both of her eight-meter attempts for TCNJ, which was 4-for-6 on free-position efforts.

The Lions play host to another ranked foe on Saturday, when No. 18 Roanoke makes its way to the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.