EWING, N.J. - The 19th-ranked TCNJ field hockey team was back home to host William Smith following a three-game road trip Saturday afternoon, scoring in each half before holding off a late Herons comeback attempt to get back on track with a 2-1 victory.
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The Lions (4-3) got off to a hot start in Saturday's contest, taking just over a minute to score the game's opening goal courtesy of
Lindsey Hoffman. An unforced error gave TCNJ the ball in the attacking third, with
Isabel Maher finding
Nika Eschmann on the reset. The junior wasted no time sending in a cross that found the stick of Hoffman, who carried the ball away from goal before rifling a shot that struck the leg of William Smith's Olivia Terranova and trickled over the line to give the Lions the 1-0 lead.
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The script flipped in a second quarter that saw the Herons outpace TCNJ in both shots (3-2) and penalty corners (3-0), but
Brigitte Racey made a pair of saves to send the hosts into the break with the one-goal advantage.
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Saturday's second half began just as the first did, with the Lions doubling their lead on a perfectly-place redirect just 1:17 into the third quarter. After Hoffman's initial shot on frame was denied,
Rachael Tetzlaff took over possession near midfield. The junior settled the ball before sending a hard pass toward a waiting
Isabel Maher, who used her stick to chip the entry over Terranova's pad and into the far corner of the cage to push TCNJ's lead to two.
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 The Lions had two penalty corners shortly after their second goal of the afternoon, but saw both denied by William Smith before a strong finish to the quarter sent the Herons into the final 15 minutes with a bit of momentum.
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The visitors converted that energy into a trio of penalty corners in the first two minutes before finally breaking through at the 51:18 mark to cut TCNJ's lead to just one. William Smith kept its foot on the gas in search of an equalizer, going so far as to pull their goalie with just over two minutes on the clock, but could not sneak a second shot past Racey, who made three of her six saves in the frame to ensure her side walked away with a 2-1 win.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The shots were even at 12 by the final whistle, with TCNJ putting eight on frame to William Smith's seven.
- The Herons held an 8-5 advantage in penalty corners.
- Hoffman led all players in both shots (4) and shots on goal (4).
NOTES
- The goal was Hoffman's first of the season and the third of her career.
- Eschmann's assist was good for the junior's first collegiate point.
- Maher has now scored in two straight games.
- Tetzlaff's helper was her first of the season and the ninth of her career.
- The junior also added her 20th career defensive save in the win.
- Racey made six saves, pushing her career tally to 293.
UP NEXT
- TCNJ is on the road Wednesday, Sept. 23 to take on 14th-ranked Ursinus, with game time set for 7 p.m.
