EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ field hockey team gave No. 2 Salisbury all it could handle but was unable to dent the scoreboard and dropped a hard-fought 1-0 contest in Saturday's regular-season finale.
 
The Sea Gulls (14-2), who have beaten seven nationally ranked teams this season, scored 3:55 into the game and made it stand up.
 
TCNJ (12-6), which lost for the first time in five games, will be the No. 2 seed in next week's NJAC Tournament. The Lions will host third-seeded Montclair State in a semifinal contest on Wednesday.
 
Despite falling behind early, the Lions hung right with the high-powered Sea Gulls, outshooting the visitors 8-4 in the first half and 10-9 for the game. TCNJ, however, was unable to get one past Salisbury goalie Abbey McIlvain, who made four saves to preserve the shutout.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• While TCNJ held a slim shot advantage, Salisbury racked up a 10-5 edge in penalty corners
• Seven Sea Gulls combined for their nine shots, with Regan Nacrelli scoring the goal
• Rayhanah Ahmed paced TCNJ with four shots, with Claire Engebreth and Isabel Maher chipping in two apiece
• Brigitte Racey finished with five saves

UP NEXT

• TCNJ hosts Montclair State in the NJAC semifinals on Nov. 6