EWING, N.J. – Hailey Wexler put in the best performance of her career at the head of a disruptive defense as the No. 14 TCNJ women's lacrosse team put the clamps on No. 24 Babson in a 12-6 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
Wexler matched her career high with 13 saves – more than double the amount of goals she conceded – to backstop a back line that racked up 14 caused turnovers as the Lions extended their unbeaten start to 5-0.
TCNJ dammed up the normally high-powered Beavers (3-2), who scored three times in the first quarter – twice in the first two minutes and change – but only managed one goal in each of the succeeding periods.
Kelly Nevins finished with a team-high four goals for the Lions, while
Marissa Lucca matched her point total with three goals and two assists.
CJ Kole added three goals and an assist to go with a game-high seven draw controls.
Lucca (three caused turnovers) and Kole (two) also headed up a relentless ride that forced Babson into a turnover on five of its first eight clear attempts.
The Lions had to dig out of an early hole on a chilly afternoon in Ewing. Babson scored just 48 seconds after the opening draw and doubled their advantage to 2-0 before three minutes of game time had gone by, but the blue and gold showed off their resilience and steadily gained the upper hand.
Evie Campbell got the Lions on the board just 37 seconds after Babson's second goal, but the green-clad visitors rebuilt a multi-goal advantage at 3-1 with 9:33 to go in the opening frame.
TCNJ had another quick answer, this time off the stick of Nevins, and
Abbie Teefy brought the Lions level on an assist from
Jules Bade at the 5:23 mark of the quarter.
The second stanza belonged to the blue and gold. Lucca gave the Lions their first lead at 4-3 on a woman-up marker from Nevins, and the home side countered a Babson equalizer with three unanswered tallies over the last seven minutes of the half.
Kole put the Lions ahead for good on a free-position laser at the 6:59 mark, then Lucca set up a Nevins goal before putting in an eight-meter attempt of her own with 59 seconds left to extend the TCNJ advantage out to 7-4 at the break.
Wexler was tremendous after the Beaver's quick start, making seven saves on nine goal-bound shots over the remainder of the first half to allow the Lions to build up a cushion.
The Beavers drew first blood out of intermission, trimming the TCNJ lead to 7-5, but that was as close as they would get. Kole and Nevins hit the back of the cage less than two minutes apart to stretch the lead back out to 9-5 midway through the third, and neither side scored for the remainder of the period.
Nevins netted her fourth goal of the day on a free-position shot less than a minute into the fourth, and Lucca hit her own eight-meter attempt to make it 11-5 with 8:35 to go. Wexler made several highlight-reel stops in between, and the teams combined for just one more goal each as the Lions cruised to the finish line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Babson outshot the Lions, 30-25, and held a 17-13 edge in shots on goal
- The teams were nearly dead-even in turnovers (20 for Babson, 19 for TCNJ) and ground balls (21-20, Babson)
- TCNJ edged the Beavers, 11-9, on the draw
- The Lions were 5-for-8 on free-position attempts, while Babson was just 1-of-4
STANDOUT LIONS
- Nevins scored four times on five shots
- In addition to her five points, Lucca produced four ground balls, three caused turnovers, and three draw controls
- Kole was 2-for-3 on free-position tries
- Teefy had a goal and an assist
- Ashly Herlihy piled up a career-high seven ground balls and added a caused turnover
- Abby Williams caused three turnovers
- Wexler made at least three saves in every quarter
NOTES
- Lucca moved into a tie for 8th in program history with 76 assists
- Kole is now four draw controls shy of 100 for her career
- Emily Potenza moved into the top-25 in school history with her 49th career caused turnover
- Emma Albano notched her first career caused turnover
- Wednesday's game marked the first regular-season meeting between the programs; TCNJ defeated Babson, 21-9, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021 in their only previous matchup with the Beavers
- TCNJ is off to a 5-0 start for the second time in three seasons, matching its best start since going 7-0 to open the 2023 campaign
- The Lions have won their last two regular-season home games against nationally ranked competition
UP NEXT
- The Lions wrap up their four-game home stand against Roanoke on Saturday
