EWING, N.J. – The No. 24 TCNJ field hockey team had a Senior Day to remember on Saturday, with its departing class accounting for all but one goal in a 5-0 rout of Montclair State on a sunny afternoon in Ewing.
Nika Eschmann had a goal and an assist,
Allie Baker netted her first career goal, and
Emma McElroy scored for the first time this season for the Lions (10-4, 5-1).
Jadyn Huff capped the scoring with her team-leading 11
th goal of the year and was honored in a postgame ceremony alongside Baker,
Prisha Dhruve, Eschmann,
Kendal Justus,
Isabel Maher, McElroy,
Megan McGavin,
Brigitte Racey,
Ines Sawyer,
Codie Sciacca, and
Kara Wilson.
The Lions' diverse senior class actually includes a junior (Dhruve), two international students (Eschmann and Sawyer), and a graduate student (Racey).
TCNJ grabbed a first-quarter lead from an unlikely source, as defender
Elena Bonfrisco cleaned up a loose ball in front of the cage and shuffled home her first collegiate goal with 2:28 to play in the period.
The Lions nearly added a second as the initial stanza expired, but
Rachael Tetzlaff's hard shot off a corner insertion by Dhruve clanged off the left post.
Another unlikely hero emerged in the second quarter in the form of McElroy, who took a reverse pass from Eschmann and lifted a shot past the keeper for her first goal of the season, giving TCNJ a 2-0 lead with 9:02 left until halftime.
Eschmann got on the board herself just before the break, netting her eighth goal of the year to make it 3-0 Lions with 1:28 before intermission. Maher set up the play, dribbling past a defender and down the left side of the circle before her centering pass was cut out by the goalie directly to Eschmann for the rebound.
Baker opened her collegiate account early in the fourth quarter. Dhruve won the ball back from a Montclair defender and carried to the right side of the circle, sending in a cross that was deflected towards the cage by Huff. In the ensuing scramble, the ball found Baker, and the senior capitalized on her good fortune to lift her first career goal high into the back of the cage for a 4-0 lead.
Huff put a bow on the Senior Day fireworks, scoring from a near-impossible angle along the end line with 2:28 remaining.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ outshot the Red Hawks by a 28-2 margin, putting 18 of those attempts on goal
- The Lions earned 10 corners to Montclair's two
- Montclair State goalie Sydney White finished with 13 saves
STANDOUT LIONS
- Baker's goal came on her first career shot
- McElroy grabbed her third career goal and first since last season
- Eschmann posted her second game of the season with both a goal and an assist
- Huff led all players with eight shots and matched Eschmann with six on-target efforts
- McGavin fired off a career-high four shots, forcing a save from White on one of them
- Racey made one save for her 18th career shutout
- Sawyer made her second appearance of the year
NOTES
- The Lions have won at least 10 games for the 16th consecutive campaign
- TCNJ is a perfect 6-0 at home and has won four straight over MSU
UP NEXT
- The Lions wrap up the regular season with a home game against Stockton on Wednesday night, a matchup that will deliver the winner the No. 2 seed and a home semifinal in the NJAC Tournament
