EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ women's lacrosse team took down NJAC rival Rowan, 14-6, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. The last matchup between these teams was the 2022 NJAC Championship, where TCNJ dominated the game, winning 18-3. Today the Lions delivered another impressive performance, featuring multiple goals from four Lions: Anna Devlin, Ally Tobler, Larissa Hatzold and Anna Wright.
Rowan scored the first goal of the game just under two minutes in, but the Lions quickly came back to take the lead. Hatzold scored her first goal on the day on an assist from Morgan Vaccaro. The next two goals to whiz into the net were from Tobler, both unassisted as the junior forward maneuvered her way through the defenders to score. The Lions outscored Rowan, 10-4, in the first period, resulting in a 3-1 score.
The second period brought three more goals for the Lions. Tobler completed her hat-trick four minutes into the quarter with a slick shot past the Rowan goalie. On a play that started off with a ground ball pickup by Sophia Pappalardo and a successful clear attempt, Natalie Berry scored her lone goal of the game off an assist by Hatzold. She followed her assist with her second goal of the game on a free position attempt with five minutes left in the half. Two more Rowan goals in the period would make the halftime score 6-3.
The second half saw a quick offensive start for the Lions. After a few consecutive turnovers to start the third period, a Lions goal came from Devlin on a quick shot into the left side of the net. She then turned around another goal four minutes later in a similar fashion, making it a 7-3 game. Devlin completed her hat-trick with three minutes left in the quarter. Katherine Naiburg also notched a Lion's goal in the third, making her mark in the scoring spree. Rowan had a lone goal on the quarter from Fiona Lockhart, making the end-of-period score 10-4.
The fourth quarter saw four more Lion's goals to secure the victory. Just one minute the final period, Devlin scored her fourth goal off a free position attempt. She then notched an assist on a goal just forty seconds later, this time scored by Wright. Rowan answered back with two goals of their own, scored by Elaina Corson, bringing the score to 12-6. Wright scored her second goal of the game off of a free position shot that went soaring into the back of the net. With three minutes left of the game, a Rowan foul sent Kileigh Pfluger to the free position line where she fired her first goal of the season past the Prof goalie. A few close call free position attempts brought Rowan close to scoring, but they were unsuccessful by the time the clock ran out.
Julia Charest recorded nine saves on the game, giving another strong performance in goal. Devlin racked up eight draw controls in the match, with Sabrina Phillips getting two of her own. TCNJ will return to action this Saturday for Senior Day when they face off against Kean with a start time of 1 p.m.
