By Alexandra Parado
Staff Writer
After two successive victories against Stockton and Kean Universities, the nationally top-ranked Lions captured their eighth consecutive perfect conference season, finishing top seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
On April 24, the Lions journeyed to Galloway, New Jersey and left with an 18-1 win over Stockton. The match started with a 3-0 lead with goals from sophomore midfielder Allie Gorman, freshman midfielder Erin Jaffe and sophomore midfielder Alexandria Fitzpatrick. After a goal by the opponent, the Lions responded by firing six straight goals to conclude the first half, 9-1.
In the second half, the Lions made nine unanswered goals, closing the game 18-1.
The team had a few days of rest before getting back on the road to travel to Union, New Jersey on Saturday, April 28 for its final game of the regular season against Kean.
The game began with a goal from Kean, but the Lions responded with eight goals, demonstrating the team’s resilience on the field. Junior midfielder Kathleen Jaeger scored half of the goals in the first half, and later finished with five goals in total.
In the second half of the game, the Lions added 10 more points on the scoreboard. This triumph resulted in the advancement of their record to 15-2 overall and 6-0 in the NJAC.
Junior goalkeeper Miranda Chrone was named the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association National Defensive Player of the Week for games played between April 16-22. That week, Chrone aided the College to a triad of wins.
In the first win of the week against Rowan University, Chrone tied a career-high of nine saves. Not only did she protect the net, but she was active outside of the cage with six ground balls and three turnovers. Chrone also prevailed to a 10-1 victory over Salisbury University, which was top ranked in the NJAC at the time. In the net, Chrone held Salisbury to a single goal for the entire game, which marked the first time in history this occurred. In the final victory, Chrone had five saves against Rowan University.
Chrone ended the season as second all-time in program history with 53 career wins, and is the NCAA all-time leader in career goals.
The College and Kean face each other again on Wednesday, May 2 in the opening round of the NJAC tournament in Lions Stadium.
