The College of New Jersey Athletics

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The TCNJ women's lacrosse team is elite once more.
 
Behind a stirring turnaround spanning the halftime break, the No. 14 Lions surged past No. 7 Amherst, 11-9, and into the NCAA quarterfinals with a stunning third-quarter blitz that sent the Mammoths into extinction. Back in the 'Elite Eight' for the first time since 2022, the 14^th-ranked Lions will take their shot at unbeaten and top-ranked Middlebury on Sunday with a Final Fourth berth on the line.
 
Marissa Lucca took over the game with four goals and four assists for the Lions (18-2), who trailed 5-3 midway through the second quarter before running off seven unanswered goals to seize control. Lucca had a hand in almost all of them.
 
First, the senior drew a crowd of defenders in front of the crease before finding Emily Potenza, who cut down the alley and buried a quick shot into the back of the cage to trim Amherst's lead to 5-4 with 3:56 left in the first half.
 
After forcing a shot-clock violation on the defensive end, Lucca cut in for a third goal, bringing TCNJ even for the third time at 5-5 with 1:04 until the break.
 
TCNJ took its first lead 85 seconds into the second half, when Kelly Nevins found space in front of the cage and sent a pass from Lucca past the Amherst netminder for a 6-5 upper hand.
 
Hailey Wexler made another save on a Mammoth eight-meter, and Evie Campbell finished through contact on a free-position attempt of her own to extend the lead out to 7-5 with 11:28 left in the third.
 
Less than a minute later, Lucca's skip pass set up Campbell all alone at the left post, and the rookie slipped a shot through the five-hole. An Amherst turnover gave TCNJ possession back, and Lucca fired a high free-position shot into the back of the cage to extend the run to six unanswered tallies as the Lions forced a Mammoth timeout with a 9-5 lead at the 9:29 mark of the frame.
 
The momentum continued apace out of the stoppage, with Kole finding space in front and converting another assist from Lucca into her first goal of the afternoon as TCNJ doubled up the Mammoths, 10-5, at the halfway point of the period. Amherst finally broke up the Lions' unabated surge with a free-position goal at the 3:56 mark of the third.
 
The Mammoths (13-5) got within three early in the final frame, but Wexler got down low to stop a goal-bound effort and prevent Amherst from making further inroads.
 
Milking the clock on every offensive possession, the Lions cashed in another free-position chance off the stick of Kole, whose second goal of the day plugged the top right corner of the cage and made it 11-7 with 6:09 to play. Amherst scored twice in the final 25 seconds, a mere delaying of the Lions' inevitable celebration.
 
The Mammoths dominated the draw, to the tune of a 16-4 surplus in the circle, but most of the ensuing play favored TCNJ. The Lions were seemingly everywhere on defense, forcing 20 Amherst turnovers – four caused by Abby Williams – and otherwise effectively funneling play toward the waiting stick of Wexler, who racked up 12 saves.
 
Despite not earning a draw control herself, rookie Sydney Murri made an impact in slowing down Grace Shannon's dominance on the draw. After helping her team to an 11-1 edge in the first half, Shannon's Mammoths were a less robust 6-of-9 in the second.
 
After falling behind on an early Amherst goal, Lucca pulled the Lions even with a top-shelf free-position shot at the 10:05 mark of the first quarter. Lucca nearly gave the blue and gold the lead on the next possession, but saw her long-range laser clang off the crossbar. Unfortunately for the Lions, the Mammoths instead went down the field and converted an eight-meter effort of their own to go up 2-1 just past the midway point of the opening frame.
 
TCNJ dropped into a 3-1 deficit as Bridget Finley netted her second free-position marker of the quarter with 1:15 to go, but Wexler made sure the hole got no deeper with a pair of tremendous reflex saves on the doorstep in the closing seconds of the stanza.
 
Kelly Nevins drew the Lions back within one on a late-clock free-position goal just over a minute into the second quarter. TCNJ got back on level terms as Abbie Teefy slithered her way inside and fed Lucca for a slam-dunk goal that made it 3-3 with 7:36 left before half, but the Mammoths nosed back in front with a woman-up goal 29 seconds later and scored again less than a minute after that to obtain a 5-3 advantage. It all turned from there, and TCNJ is back among the nation's elite as a result.
 
The Lions' reward for their most important victory of the last four years is a date with powerhouse Middlebury, the four-time reigning national champions who are a mind-boggling 134-2 since losing in the 2018 NCAA championship game. The Panthers have won 26 straight NCAA Tournament games, 93 of their last 94 overall, and are going for the sixth consecutive title in NCAA Tournaments in which they have participated.
 
But, hey … After knocking off a Mammoth, who's to say Goliath can't be next?
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Amherst held a 26-23 advantage in shots
• The Mammoths won 17 of 21 draws but were done in by their 20 turnovers and Wexler's dozen saves
• TCNJ scooped up 18 ground balls to Amherst's 12
• Both teams caused 11 turnovers

STANDOUT LIONS

• Lucca led all players in goals and assists, and had a hand in all but one goal during the Lions' 9-2 run that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 10-5 lead
• Wexler stopped 12 of the 21 on-target shots she faced, including three free-position saves
• Campbell, Kole, and Nevins each fired in a pair of goals in support of Lucca
• Williams had a game-high in caused turnovers and matched Kole for the game lead with four grounders
• Ashly Herlihy caused a pair of turnovers

NOTES

• The Lions extended their NCAA-record tally of NCAA quarterfinal berths to 35
• The Lions are now 4-6 all-time versus Amherst, notching their first win in the series since an 8-7 victory in the NCAA second round round in 2012
• TCNJ's win was its first over a NESCAC school in an NCAA matchup since a victory over Bowdoin in 2018; the Lions had lost their last five postseason meetings with the conference
• The Lions also denied the NESCAC a sixth quarterfinalist and third All-NESCAC regional final; two of the other three regions will feature All-NESCAC matchups (Tufts vs. Williams and Wesleyan vs. Trinity)
• Lucca is now just two points shy of Jenny LaRocca's single-season record of 140 points; her 82 goals are tied for 4^th-most in program history
• Lucca moved into 6^th on the all-time scoring list with 208 career goals
• Potenza took over 9^th place all-time in career caused turnovers (72), with Herlihy one behind in a tie for 10^th (71)
• Williams' 63 caused turnovers are now the 3^rd-most in a single season in school history and already place her 16^th all-time
• Wexler, now one of just five goalkeepers in school history to register 18 wins in a campaign, registered the 20^th victory of her career
• Wexler's 111 saves in 2026 are tied with former teammate Julia Charest for 24^th in a single season
• Wexler's 12 saves on Saturday are the most by a Lion netminder in an NCAA game since Miranda Chrone had 13 against Tufts in 2019