EWING, N.J. (11/5/14) – The Kean University field hockey team fell to No. 1 nationally-ranked The College of New Jersey 5-1 in the NJAC semifinals on Wednesday night.
The Lions leapt out to a quick lead on two scores by Jaclyn Douglas before five minutes had gone by. Lindsey Hatch assisted on the second one and then scored TCNJ's third goal at 15:30 with Erin Healy assisting.
TCNJ maintained that cushion through halftime. Kean was able to take a penalty corner in the half but could not generate any scoring chances of its own in the first 35.
The Lions notched another tally at 42:56 to take a 4-0 lead.
With 20 minutes remaining, Kean had its best scoring chance until that point when Marissa Robinson walloped a shot off a penalty corner that went just wide. It was a part of a series of three-straight penalty corners for the Cougars, their best stretch of the night.
With five minutes left, Kean's Chelsea Mann (pictured left) spoiled the shutout with a great individual effort to score the final goal of the game. It was her ninth of the season.
The Cougars took three shots in the second half and put two on goal after being held without a single one in the first.
TCNJ held on for the 5-1 final and will host the NJAC Championship game on Saturday against Rowan University.
This was the second NJAC Tournament appearance for the Cougars; the Championship began play in 2011. Previously, the conference awarded its automatic bid to its regular-season champion.
The Cougars are now 13-7 on the year and will await the announcement of the ECAC Tournament field, which will come early next week.
