Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University women's lacrosse team (6-4, 0-1 NJAC) put up a valiant fight and nearly upset No. 11 TCNJ (8-2, 1-0 NJAC), but ultimately came up just short in a 16-15 thriller during their New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener on Saturday afternoon.

How It Happened

• The Lions struck first just over three minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Montclair responded quickly, firing five shots in the next 90 seconds, including three free-position attempts. Following a TCNJ yellow card, NORAH MONAGHAN netted the equalizer off a feed from Lukovic, tying the game at 1-1 with 11:00 remaining. The teams traded goals to a 3-3 tie before TCNJ scored twice in the final two minutes of the quarter, taking a 5-3 lead into the second.
• TCNJ appeared to be pulling away with goals at the 10:02 and 8:33 marks of the second quarter, extending their lead to 7-3. CHELSEA STACK responded with a free-position goal at 7:35 to keep Montclair within striking distance. Both teams scored twice more before halftime, with LEXI ROBINSON and Lukovic tallying the Red Hawks' goals to send the game into intermission at 9-6.
• Stack connected with KAELEY SEK to open the third quarter at the 11:38 mark. TCNJ answered with a flurry of three goals in two minutes, pushing their lead to 12-7. Robinson answered at 8:07, keeping Montclair within reach. The offenses continued to trade goals for the rest of the quarter, and the Lions held a 15-10 advantage heading into the final frame.
• The fourth quarter saw a fierce push from the Red Hawks. Robinson buried a free-position shot at 13:16, followed by a goal from JOELLE D'ANGELO off a pass from CARA MCCARTNEY. On the ensuing draw, Stack found Robinson, who scored again to cut the lead to 15-13 with 7:43 remaining. TCNJ added an insurance goal at 6:31, but Lukovic responded just nine seconds later, winning the draw and scoring to make it 16-14. Monaghan later scored off a feed from D'Angelo to bring Montclair within one. The Red Hawks had a chance to regain possession, but a yellow card with 53 seconds left reset the shot clock. TCNJ held possession and ran out the clock to escape with the win.

 
Inside the Numbers

• CHELSEA STACK played the role of facilitator, recording five assists and adding a goal to lead the team in points.
•  Robinson led the Red Hawks in scoring with four goals, matching her season-high from the February 26 game against Mount Saint Vincent.
• Monaghan was all over the field today. She finished with two goals and an assist for three points and led the team in ground balls (5) and draw controls (8).
• Goalie JOEY GROTKOPF had a standout performance in net, tying her season-high with 16 saves—a mark she also reached against Stevens on February 19.

From the Field
"I'm proud of how hard this team worked and the effort they put in today. Not the outcome we wanted, but a solid foundation and setting of expectations of what's to come." Associate Head Coach Kelsey Withrow

Up Next
Montclair State will hit the road for their final non-conference matchup of the season, taking on Muhlenberg on Tuesday, April 8 at 4:00 p.m.