EWING, N.J. – The No. 10 TCNJ women's lacrosse team spent the majority of Saturday's NCAA second-round clash with No. 13 Colby digging its way out of an early hole, but the Lions' valiant comeback effort came up just short in a 15-11 defeat from the waterlogged Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
The Mules advanced to an all-NESCAC third-round matchup with Wesleyan, while the Lions saw their season come to an end in a thrilling matchup fitting of a meeting much deeper in the tournament.
FOR THE RECORD
- Colby improved to 12-6 on the year, while TCNJ's season ended at 14-5 overall
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Colby got off to a quick start, scoring 43 seconds after opening draw
- After a series of empty possessions for each side, the Mules doubled their lead on a goal by Cami McDonald, who proceeded to tack on back-to-back goals just 38 seconds apart as the visitors opened up a 4-0 lead late in the first quarter
- Ally Tobler got the Lions on the board on an assist from Katherine Naiburg
- TCNJ cut the margin to 4-2 early in the second, when Kaitlyn Birnbohm-Kaminski sent a long pass up ahead to a streaking Madison Wernik, who beat Colby goalie Sarah Hearns low
- The teams traded a pair of goals from there, with Colby twice going back up by three only for TCNJ to get back within two, but Tori Congdon's tally with 11.8 seconds left in the half gave the Mules a 7-4 advantage
- After Colby took an 8-4 lead early in the third, Marissa Lucca and CJ Kole sent shots into the back of the cage to cut the margin in half, but the Mules went back up by three (9-6) on a goal by Congdon with 6:33 left in the third
- That's when the Lions made their move, scoring three straight goals to pull even for the first time. The first two came 22 seconds apart, one on a twizzler by Kira Sides and the next a woman-up tally by Berry with an assist to Naiburg
- TCNJ turned defense into offense to tie it, as Lucca intercepted a pass in the Mules' defensive zone and fed ahead to Morgan Vaccaro for a quick shot and a goal that made it 9-all with 4:04 to go in the period
- Colby, however, took the lead for good on its next possession, and a goal by Alli Franz with 22 ticks to go made it 11-9 heading into the final frame
- The Mules dashed the Lions' comeback hopes early in the fourth, winning three consecutive draws and scoring on all three to run their lead to 14-9 with 11:25 remaining
- Sides scored on another remarkable individual effort and Tobler netted a free-position goal with an even 6 minutes left, but that was all the scoring for the Lions and Colby added an insurance tally with 2:25 to go
FOR THE FOES
- Julia Jardina had four goals and three assists
- McDonald scored five goals, and Franz matched her with five points (2G/3A)
- Tate Ban dished out four assists
STANDOUT LIONS
- Kole netted a hat-trick with three goals
- Tobler finished with two goals and an assist plus seven draw controls
- Sides scored two goals, Naiburg notched two assists, and Lucca and Wernik each coupled a goal with an assist
- Sides caused three turnovers and added two ground balls
- Julia Charest totaled nine saves
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Colby had a 34-22 advantage in shots and a 17-11 edge on the draw
- The teams were even in ground balls (13-13) and turnovers (15-15)
- Neither did much on the free-position, with Colby going 1-for-5 and TCNJ just 1-for-2
NOTES
- Tobler ended her season with 267 career points, moving into 6th on the all-time list; her 224 goals are already third all-time, and Tobler will be back for a fifth season in 2025, needing 37 goals to become the program's all-time leader
- Tobler's 94 draw controls in 2024 were the 6th-most in a single season, and her 89 points (66G/23A) are tied for 16th
- Wernik caused two turnovers to move into 4th in school history with 80; her 33 caused turnovers this year are tied for 6th in a single season
- Birnbohm-Kaminski's assist was the second of her career
- The Lions' nine seniors and super seniors combined to go 57-15 over the last four seasons, with four NJAC championships and a Final Four appearance in 2022
