EWING, N.J. – Jadyn Huff broke a scoreless deadlock with a rebound goal in the fourth quarter to lift the TCNJ field hockey team to a 1-0 victory over Stockton in a tense NJAC semifinal on Wednesday afternoon.
The second-seeded Lions (12-5) will head to top-seeded Rowan – a 4-0 winner over New Paltz in the other semifinal – for a fifth consecutive NJAC championship rematch on Saturday.
The Lions put the Stockton back line under siege early and often, firing off three shots in the first minute with an opening flurry before tacking on three more cage-bound efforts later in the frame, but all were turned away by Delfina Vanelli.
The Ospreys (12-6) generated a golden chance against the run of play late in the opening quarter, but Stella Devlin saw her reverse turned aside by a sprawling
Brigitte Racey on a 2-on-1 break. Later in the possession, Devlin got a tip on a pass from outside the circle, but Racey was right there to deflect it out.
Stockton went inches wide on a turnaround shot early in the second stanza, but neither side generated much in the way of scoring opportunities before the first half ended with the teams locked in a scoreless stalemate.
The Ospreys had the best chance of a quiet third period, but Racey was there to pad the ball away after Devlin knocked a deflected pass out of the air and towards the left side of the cage.
TCNJ was dealt a heavy dose of adversity late in the third, when standout back
Rachael Tetzlaff was assessed a yellow card in the final minute of the frame.
Stockton once again nearly went ahead early in the fourth off a corner, but
Elena Bonfrisco was standing at the left post to parry away a cage-bound deflection for a crucial defensive save. A few minutes later, the Lions had the lead.
Isabel Maher picked up a loose ball at midfield and dribbled through the center of the field before leaving off a pass for
Emma McElroy streaking down the right side. McElroy carried into the circle and ripped a shot at Vanelli, who got down to save it, but the rebound trickled towards the left post and Huff sprinted in to knock it into the open cage for the all-important opener with 11:21 to play.
The Ospreys got off only one more shot the rest of the way, a long-range effort that was easily snuffed out by Racey.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ held a 15-9 advantage in shots and doubled up the Ospreys in shots on goal (12-6)
- There were only three corners in the contest, two of them by the Lions
- Vanelli racked up 11 saves for Stockton
STANDOUT LIONS
- Huff netted her third game-winning goal of the season
- Bonfrisco tallied her fifth defensive save of the year in support of Racey, who stonewalled the other five on-target shots that came her way
- Nika Eschmann led all players with six shots, all of which were on target
NOTES
- TCNJ is now 24-2 all-time against Stockton, including a perfect 14-0 mark at home
- The Lions have defeated the Ospreys by a one-goal margin in the NJAC semifinals each of the last two years
- Racey registered her 20th career shutout
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to top-seeded Rowan for the fifth consecutive edition of the rivalry in the NJAC championship game, with first touch set for 1 p.m. on Saturday
