UNION, N.J. – Avery Gower's sensational goal late in the third quarter was the difference-maker in the No. 23 TCNJ field hockey team's 2-1 NJAC victory at Kean on Wednesday.
The rookie's remarkable effort broke a 1-1 deadlock and lifted the Lions (7-3, 2-0) to their third straight victory while snapping a three-game skid in road games.
After a tame opening several minutes,
Rachael Tetzlaff and
Nika Eschmann forced saves from Kean keeper Daniella Maresca to set off a consistent pattern that lasted the remainder of the first half.
Maresca made five first-quarter saves (plus a defensive save from one of her back-line mates) and two more in the early portion of the second quarter to keep the Blue & Gold at bay until Eschmann struck with 6:03 to play in the stanza, finishing a feed from
Kendal Justus after a corner injection from
Prisha Dhruve to stake the Lions to a 1-0 lead.
TCNJ continued to pepper Maresca with shots in an effort to expand its lead, but was denied at every turn and watched the hosts pull even on a goal by Shannon Conroy about five minutes into the third quarter.
Back came the Lions, Gower giving the visitors the lead with a brilliant individual sequence. The rookie carried a restart all the way to the top of the circle before spinning around a defender and evading Maresca to her left before scooping a backhanded shot into an open cage to give her team the lead for good with 4:37 to play in the third.
TCNJ nearly doubled its advantage two minutes later, but
Rachael Tetzlaff saw her shot saved before
Jillian Tetzlaff's attempt at the rebound was cleared off the line by the second Cougar defensive save of the day.
The Lions conceded three shots and five corners in the final frame, but one save from
Brigitte Racey was all that was required to fend off the Cougars and secure a critical result on the road.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ owned a sizeable advantage in both shots (24-6) and shots on goal (16-3)
- The Lions earned 12 corners to the Cougars' nine
- Huff (five total shots), Eschmann (four), and Gower (three) all had three shots on goal for TCNJ
- Maresca finished with 12 saves to keep Kean close
- Racey had two saves in her seventh win of the season
STANDOUT LIONS
- Eschmann has been red-hot of late; she extended her goal-scoring streak to four consecutive games, during which she has hit the back of the cage five times, and her point streak to five games in a row
- Justus notched her second career assist, both of which have come in the last three games
- Gower has scored in back-to-back games
NOTES
- The Lions have won seven straight games against Kean
- TCNJ improved to 69-3 all-time in the series; the Lions are a remarkable 34-1 in Union, the lone loss coming in the 2021 NJAC semifinals
UP NEXT
- The Lions stay on the road to face Ramapo on Saturday
