COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Avery Vacca scored her first career goal and fellow first-year Rachael Tetzlaff helped make it stand up with a critical defensive save to help the TCNJ field hockey team edge No. 16 Ursinus, 1-0, for a massive road win on Wednesday night.
 
The Lions (4-4) snapped a four-game skid and picked up their first win over a ranked team with a gritty performance in a defensive struggle on Snell Field. The teams combined for just 12 shots for the night, and TCNJ had to overcome a 5-1 second-half deficit in that department.
 
Vacca opened her collegiate account midway through the second quarter. Following a corner insert by Prisha Dhruve, Tetzlaff's pass toward the right post was deflected into the air by a Bear defender, and Vacca was there to knock it out of the air and into the cage.
 
Ursinus upped the pressure after halftime and nearly equalized with just under five minutes left in the third, but Tetzlaff managed to swipe away a slow-rolling shot that had gotten past keeper Brigitte Racey.
 
The Bears had one last flurry with about seven minutes remaining, but Racey stoned back-to-back shots by Rachel Buono following a corner to preserve the Lions' shutout.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ursinus outshot the Lions, 7-5, and put all but one of its shots on cage
• Vacca tied for the game lead with two shots, a total matched by the Bears' Buono and Marie Brainard
• Racey finished with five saves for her second shutout of the season and the fifth of her career

NOTES

• Tetzlaff has a team-leading four defensive saves this season, three of which have come in the last two games
• TCNJ snapped a three-game losing streak in the series; Ursinus had won each of the last three meetings by a single goal

UP NEXT

• The Lions host Albright next Tuesday at 4 p.m.