EWING, N.J. – The No. 11 TCNJ women's lacrosse team drew the short straw in a back-and-forth battle with 17^th-ranked Colorado College on Saturday, the visitors doing just enough to edge out the Lions in a 17-13 decision.
 
Ally Tobler had five goals and an assist for TCNJ (10-4), in a game in which the blue and gold were tied six times but never managed to grab a lead.
 
The well-traveled Tigers (16-3), fresh off a WIAC regular-season crown, got at least three points from five different players to defeat TCNJ for the first time in program history.
 
The yellow-clad visitors grabbed a quick 1-0 lead on a free-position goal by Healy Bledsoe, daughter of former NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe, but Tobler equalized 21 seconds later to set off a see-saw affair.
 
The teams traded single goals until CC took a 5-3 lead on back-to-back goals by Tobin Lonergan late in the first, only for Abbie Teefy to net a player-up marker on a feed from Marissa Lucca. Tobler's third goal of the afternoon knotted the contest at 5-5 early in the second.
 
CJ Kole and Lucca answered Tiger goals with ones of their own, Lucca's landing the two sides in a 7-7 stalemate late in the second period. That's when CC began to separate, ending the frame on a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 edge into halftime.
 
Neither team had scored midway through the third until Teefy slipped one past the CC goalie on an assist from Gabriella Roosa, who buried a free-position shot less than a minute later to get the Lions within 10-9.
 
CC got two goals from Grace Bean 45 seconds apart to restore a three-goal cushion (12-9) with 3:33 to go in the third, and the visitors took that lead into the final frame.
 
Trailing 13-10 early in the fourth, Tobler put on her cape and scored back-to-back magnificent goals on spin moves to pull TCNJ to within one with 11:47 still left on the timer. That was as close as the Lions got, however, as CC netted the next two goals to increase the hosts' deficit and ultimately managed to run out much of the remaining clock.
 
FOR THE FOES

• Charlotte Iler and Sofia Mancino each had three goals and two assists
• Lonergan and Bean scored three times apiece
• Meilani Molina finished with a goal, two assists, and six draws, while Bledsoe stuffed the scoresheet with a goal, an assist, five draw controls, and five ground balls
• Cassidy Schnauffer had 11 saves, six of them in the first quarter

STANDOUT LIONS

• Tobler scored on all but one of her six shots and added five draw controls
• Kole had two goals and an assist and Teefy managed a pair of markers
• Veronica Campbell racked up seven draw controls, four ground balls, and three caused turnovers to go with a goal and an assist
• Ashly Herlihy caused three turnovers and grabbed a pair of ground balls
• Hailey Wexler finished with five saves in the second half, as did Julia Charest in the first

NOTES

• Tobler moved into a tie for 7^th in program history with 226 draw controls
• Tobler's assist was the 63^rd of her career, good for a tie for 12^th all-time
• Charest surpassed 450 career saves

UP NEXT

• The Lions continue NJAC play at Stockton on Wednesday