EWING, N.J. – The No. 24 TCNJ field hockey team scored on its first three shots during Saturday's NJAC matchup with SUNY New Paltz, gaining plenty of first-half separation en route to a 3-1 victory on a chilly afternoon in Ewing.
Codie Sciacca scored the opener and assisted on the closer for the Lions, who held off a strong second-half push by the Hawks in the teams' first meeting as NJAC foes and extended their winning streak to five games.
Sciacca opened the scoring on the Lions' first shot, stuffing home a loose ball in close after
Nika Eschmann played a ball into the circle from the right side.
The Lions (9-3, 4-0) got another goal early in the second period following a successful corner as
Avery Vacca slipped a centering pass to Huff, who slid a low shot past the diving keeper and into the right corner of the cage to double the Blue & Gold's advantage.
TCNJ struck again at the midway point of the frame, when Sciacca dribbled into the left side of the circle and sent a long pass across the circle for Hoffman, who tracked back to collect the ball before turning and firing an angled shot into the left corner of the cage for a 3-0 lead.
While the Lions scored on their first three shots of the day, the same fortune eluded the Hawks. New Paltz (4-10, 1-3) actually outshot the home side, 5-4, in the first half, but
Brigitte Racey saved three shots back-to-back-to-back to turn the visitors away in one sequence later in the second stanza. New Paltz nearly had a goal back on their first corner of the game, but
Rachael Tetzlaff was in the right spot at the right time to parry away a deflected shot ticketed for the upper right corner of the cage.
New Paltz broke up the shutout with 6:35 to go in the third, but were otherwise unable to threaten the Lions down the stretch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Hawks edged TCNJ in shots (9-7) and shots on goal (7-5)
- TCNJ held a 7-5 advantage in corners
STANDOUT LIONS
- Sciacca posted her second career game with both a goal and an assist
- Huff's goal was her team-leading 10th of the season, marking her third straight campaign with double-digit markers
- Hoffman netted her second goal of the season and fourth of her career
- Vacca recorded her first assist of the season and the second of her career
- Tetzlaff notched her NJAC-leading seventh defensive save of the season, extending her program record to 23
- Racey finished with five saves, all in the first half
NOTES
- TCNJ is now 5-0 all-time in the series, which marked its first occurrence since a 4-0 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014, when the Lions shut out four straight opponents en route to their most recent national title'
- The Lions remained perfect at home this season (5-0)
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to No. 15 Rowan on Wednesday for a massive ranked showdown that will likely determine the top seed in the NJAC Tournament
