EWING, N.J. – CJ Kole scored five goals, including the 100^th of her career, to lead the No. 14 TCNJ women's lacrosse team to a 17-5 victory over New Paltz on Saturday.
 
The Lions gave a rude welcome to the Hawks (3-3), who will join the NJAC in all sports next fall.
 
Kole, who also had a pair of assists, got plenty of support from her attack mates. Marissa Lucca netted five goals, Kelly Nevins had two goals and two assists, and Ashly Herlihy – newly inserted on attack – finished with two goals and an assist.
 
TCNJ (4-0) got off to a fast start as Nevins hit the back of the cage about two-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Battling extreme winds all afternoon, the blue gold upped their advantage to four as Kole sandwiched a pair of markers around a woman-down tally from Abbie Teefy.
 
Leading 4-1 after one, the Lions got an unexpected boost as Herlihy scored the first goal of her career about 90 seconds into the second stanza.
 
The teams traded goals before TCNJ put the game out of reach with a big run to close the first half. Kole joined the Century Club with 3:32 to go in the quarter to make it 7-2, and Lucca followed 39 seconds later with her own hat-trick clinching tally. Nevins scored with 1:06 to go, and Lucca extended the advantage to 10-2 with a goal with just 12 seconds showing on the timer.
 
Kole closed the third-quarter scoring with her fourth goal of the day, starting the running clock as the hosts took a 13-3 lead with 3:32 left in the frame.
 
Sydney Sieja netted her first goal of the season later in the stanza, and Kole and Lucca each scored their fifth goals of the day in the fourth, when Evie Campbell also got on the scoreboard.
 
Hailey Wexler made two saves in the first three quarters before turning the game over to Kylie Kurtz and Jordyn Landman, who made a pair of stops in her six minutes of action.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ outshot the Hawks, 32-9, and allowed just one shot in both the first and third quarters
• The Lions held a sizeable advantage in ground balls (17-9) and won the draw control battle, 13-10
• The Lions converted all but one of their five free-position attempts
• TCNJ forced six New Paltz turnovers on clears, part of 20 for the game

STANDOUT LIONS

• Kole racked up seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) and nine draw controls and converted both of her eight-meter opportunities
• Lucca led all players with 10 shots
• Herlihy also had a ground ball and caused turnover in addition to her three-point outing
• Meghan Hogan caused two turnovers and dished out the second assist of her career
• Abby Williams racked up four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls
• Ella Okurowski registered her first career assist

NOTES

• Lucca moved into 15^th in program history with 219 career points
• In addition to joining the 100-goal club, Kole became the 16^th player in school history to reach 60 assists
• Kole is now 11 draws shy of 100 for her career
• Krista Purnell, Audrey Searle, and Olivia Smith all made their collegiate debuts

UP NEXT

• The Lions continue their four-game home stand against No. 19 Babson on Wednesday at 4 p.m.