ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The No. 14 TCNJ women's lacrosse team was unable to sustain a strong first-quarter salvo on Wednesday evening, dropping an 11-5 decision at undefeated Muhlenberg.
 
CJ Kole netted three first-period goals for the Lions (6-1), who led 3-1 before the red-hot Mules kept the blue and gold off the board for more than 32 minutes of game time.
 
Muhlenberg (9-0), off to its best start in program history, dominated the draw and got a standout performance from Meaghan Haughney in the cage to secure their second victory of the spring against a top-20 team from the NJAC; the Mules also won 13-11 at Rowan four weeks ago.
 
A matchup of two of the 14 remaining unbeatens in Division III started with an early period of feeling out, both sides trading saves and turnovers until Kole opened the scoring at the 7-minute mark of the first quarter. After Hailey Wexler intercepted a Muhlenberg pass, Kole cashed in a free-position opportunity to double the Lions' lead.
 
The Mules got on the board less than a minute later, only for Kole to deposit another eight-meter marker in the final minute of the frame for a 3-1 TCNJ lead.
 
That was the Lions' last goal for more than two quarters. Haughney saved six straight on-target shots in the middle stanzas, half of them on free-position attempts, and Muhlenberg's attack took full advantage.
 
The hosts pulled even with back-to-back goals just 26 seconds apart, then went ahead for good with 7:56 to go in the second before pulling into intermission with a 5-3 advantage.
 
TCNJ misfired on a free-position try less than a minute into the third quarter, and scored twice in 31 seconds to take control. Emma Youngling added two more goals in the period, extending the home side's run of unanswered goals to eight and making it 9-3 heading into the final frame.
 
The Lions ended their drought early in the fourth, when Marissa Lucca finished a feed from Ashly Herlihy, but the Mules won the ensuing draw and scored following a TCNJ yellow card to stop any momentum the visitors might have gained.
 
Youngling paced the Mules with five goals and an assist and added eight draw controls, while Alyssa Hartnett handed out three assists to go with a goal. Haughney finished with nine saves.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Muhlenberg outshot the Lions, 31-22
• The Mules came in ranked 2^nd in all of Division III in draw controls per game and sixth in draw control percentage and did nothing to hurt those numbers, finishing with a huge 15-3 advantage in the circle
• Muhlenberg's 12^th-ranked scoring defense limited TCNJ to well under the Lions' season average of 14.5 goals per game
• TCNJ was 3-for-10 on free-positions, with Muhlenberg going 3-of-8

STANDOUT LIONS

• Kole finished with a hat-trick
• Lucca and Kelly Nevins scored the other goals for the Lions
• Herlihy was tremendous defensively, tallying four ground balls and three caused turnovers in addition to her assist
• Abby Williams, the reigning NJAC Rookie of the Week, racked up five caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls

NOTES

• Wednesday marked the first all-time meeting between the programs
• Lucca moved into sole possession of 14^th on the all-time points charts with 232 for her career
• Emily Potenza moved into a tie for 22^nd in program history with her 51^st career caused turnover, matching current assistant coach Kileigh Pfluger
• Williams has multiple caused turnovers in each of her last five games, including at least three in four straight
• Nevins continued her streak of recording at least one point in every game this season

UP NEXT

• The Lions head back to the Keystone State on Saturday to take on Lebanon Valley