By Jhett Laurie
Sports Editor
The College’s field hockey team picked up their first win within the New Jersey Athletic Conference on Oct. 3. The team currently sits at No. 23 nationally and No. 4 in the NJAC after another 8-0 shutout of William Patterson.
The team continued their dominant stretch against the Bears, extending their winning streak to 24 games. This record stretches back to 2002 when the teams first faced off.
The Lions wasted no time getting on the board, as in the second minute of the game, Junior Rachel Tetzlaff picked up her third goal of the season. Junior Prisha Dhruve found Tetzlaff at the top of the circle where she fired it past William Patterson’s goalie.
Offensive efforts proved to be fruitful for the team, as senior Codie Sciacca gave the Lions a 2-0 lead. 21 shots on goal went unanswered from William Patterson, as the Lions were able to give themselves a comfortable 3-0 lead with a goal from Tetzlaff when time expired in the first period.
A continued push from the offense saw two more goals from the likes of junior Nika Eschmann and freshman Avery Gower. Gower’s goal was the first of her career and a nod to her contributions to the Lions so far this season. Eschmann and Gower would combine to score yet another goal, with the pair picking up the Lions’ sixth goal on the day. Eschmann ultimately found the mark, providing her with her second goal on the day.
Coming out of the second half, the Lions slowed down, but this still proved to be too fast for a struggling William Patterson team. Seniors Jadyn Huff and Sciacca each earned themselves a goal to set the final score on the day.
The remainder of the third and fourth periods saw the Lions burn the clock, putting on a passing clinic as they maintained possession for nearly all of the remainder of the game.
The Bears did not record a single shot on the day, with their only notable stats being saves and a penalty card in the third period.
The day was one of many firsts for Lions players. Eschman recorded her first multi-goal game in college. The German now sits at four goals on the season, placing her at third among her teammates. Tetzlaff also picked up her first multi-goal game of her career. She is tied with Eschmann with four goals this season.
Sciacca has recorded six goals this season, all of which have come over the last two games. She has now doubled her career total in two games alone.
The Lions racked up almost all of the NJAC awards for the week. Sciacca picked up NJAC Offensive Player of the Week, with her six goals making a strong case. Gower was awarded NJAC Defensive Player of the Week and Eschmann got NJAC Rookie of the Week.
The team hops on the goal for their next NJAC games, as they traveled to Kean on Oct. 7 and head to Ramapo on Oct. 10 to try and secure the top spot in the conference.
