EWING, N.J. – The No. 9 TCNJ women's lacrosse team went on a run of five unanswered goals to cap a decisive fourth-quarter comeback from a three-goal deficit and notch a 15-13 victory over No. 25 Colorado College on a chilly Thursday in Ewing.
 
Ally Tobler scored six goals – including the tying tally with 6:57 remaining – and assisted on two others and got plenty of help from her supporting cast as the Lions roared back from a 12-9 deficit inside the final 12 minutes of regulation. Marissa Lucca netted a hat-trick, CJ Kole and Morgan Vaccaro dished out three helpers apiece, and Katherine Naiburg eclipsed 100 career points to help TCNJ post its first win over a nationally ranked opponent in five tries this season.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• TCNJ upped its overall mark to 9-4, while the Tigers fell to 10-4

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams traded goals in the first three minutes and change, but TCNJ's attack struggled with CC's aggressive defense and went scoreless for the final 11:34 of the period, which ended with the black and gold ahead, 4-1
• Tobler potted back-to-back woman-up goals – the second on the assist that gave Naiburg her 100^th career point – to get the home side within 4-3, but the Tigers scored three unanswered to up their lead to a game-high four (7-3) at the 5:13 mark of the second stanza
• After Naiburg scored on the player advantage to break up the spurt, the Lions used some good fortune to pull within two at half. Morgan Vaccaro's pass from behind the net deflected off the stick of Tobler and rolled across the goal line with 2.6 seconds showing to trim the CC lead to 7-5
• The momentum carried over into the third quarter, as Tobler sandwiched a pair of goals around one by Vaccaro to give TCNJ its first lead of the day (8-7) with 11:03 remaining in the third
• The Tigers tied it up a minute later, only for Lucca to fire the Lions back in front on a feed from Tobler at the midway point of the period
• CC made its move there, going on a 4-0 spurt bridging the quarter break and seizing a 12-9 lead on Devon Ortman's goal with 11:51 to go
• TCNJ had one last run left in it, and it started 40 seconds later as Lucca scored on a one-on-one move to make it 12-10
• Berry got the home side within one at the 8:13 mark as her defender fell down to allow her a path to the cage, and Tobler pulled the Lions level on a perfectly executed give-and-go with Vaccaro
• Kole put TCNJ on top for good with a tough free-position finish with 5:59 left, and Lucca's left-handed strike to the corner of the net made it 14-12 with 4:47 to go
• CC ended the five-goal stretch with 3:11 to go, closing to within one, but the Tigers' attempt at a tying goal sailed wide with exactly 1:00 to go
• Running the clock all the way down, the Lions took advantage of a scrambling CC defense as Tobler found Naiburg at the post for a quick finish and a 15-13 edge with 3.2 ticks showing

FOR THE FOES

• Tobin Lonergan led the Tigers with three goals and three assists
• Grace Bean (1G/4A), Kendall Havill (3G/1A), and Charlotte Iler (3G/1A) all had at least four points
• Healy Bledsoe had six ground balls and four caused turnovers

STANDOUT LIONS

• Tobler matched her season highs for goals (6) and points (8), posting a 6G/2A stat line for the third time. She also tallied five ground balls and four draw controls
• Vaccaro matched her career highs in assists (3) and points (4)
• Kole notched at least three assists for the second time
• Madison Wernik had three draws and two ground balls while matching Emily Potenza, Kaitlyn Birnbohm-Kaminski, and Kole with two caused turnovers

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• In a remarkably even game, TCNJ held a slender 29-27 edge in shots
• CC edged the Lions, 16-15, on the draw and 21-18 in ground balls
• Both teams were 16-for-21 on clears, with the Lions committing two fewer turnovers (18) than the Tigers (20)

NOTES

• Tobler passed Kathleen Notos '12 for 5^th on the all-time scoring list at TCNJ with 210 career goals and counting, and matched Notos for 11^th in career points (244)
• Wernik moved into 8^th in career caused turnovers (72) and is one ground ball away from 100
• TCNJ is 7-0 all-time against Colorado College, including wins in each of the last two seasons

UP NEXT

• TCNJ plays host to Montclair State on Saturday, with Senior Day ceremonies to follow