Rowan women’s lacrosse got postseason action underway on April 30, as the Profs kicked off the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship tournament with a dominant showing against the Montclair State Red Hawks with a 19-4 win.

Rowan enters as the No. 2 seed in the bracket, as they lost in their regular season finale against The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Lions 15-7, granting TCNJ home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed. The loss was only Rowan’s second of the season. 

Rowan faces a familiar foe in the Montclair, as they faced off one week earlier in Glassboro on senior night, as the Profs powered ahead early and cruised to a 21-7 triumph. 

The Profs did lose a key player to injury in that victory however, as Fiona Lockhart went down in the first half. Lockhart is one of the focal points in the Profs offensive and has scored 36 goals this season. 

The Profs entered ready to bounce back after the disappointing outcome against TCNJ, and the Red Hawks would have to endure their fury from the opening draw. Alexis Lowry started things off for the Profs with a free position goal on a misdirection shot. 

The Profs would go on a run after that, already securing a 5-0 lead with less than five minutes on the clock, with goals courtesy of Molly Green, Elaina Corson, and Hannah Lombardo. Lombardo had two in the span of 26 seconds. 

The Profs rallied another four goals in the final five minutes of the period to find themselves up 9-0 at the end of the first, including the 100th career goal for junior Calista Burke. Head coach Lindsay Delaney spoke about how special the accomplishment was considering most of the goal-scoring she’s done over the past two seasons, as she was a reserve during her freshman year. 

“100 goals in two years is nasty. It’s not even the goal-scoring, it’s the amount of time she gets this ball into our attacking-end and the physicality she can handle during a game. It’s really impressive,” Delaney said. 

Yasmin Harris recorded three goals by the 11 minute mark of the second period to secure her first career hat trick. Green and Corson followed shortly after with goals of their own to clinch their respective hat tricks on the day.

The Profs controlled the ball well in the second period, as the defense and goalkeeper Mel Rodgers saw little action on their side, outside of a few routine saves. Montclair was finally able to break the dry streak with a goal late in the second period, but still found themselves in a 13-1 hole at halftime. 

“I thought it was great, we didn’t really change our gameplan, just went in with the same mindset and just got up early,” Green said.

The Profs followed a similar blueprint in the third period, chewing away precious clock for Montclair while maintaining possession of the ball. Goals from Calista Burke, Green, and Corson put the Profs up 16-2 heading into the final period. 

“I think that we knew we had to make a statement in this game and that’s exactly what we did. We took it quarter by quarter and dominated each one,” Lombardo said.

Mel Rodgers was substituted out for sophomore Kylie Durboraw as Delaney looked to get backup pieces some playing time, as well as keeping her starters healthy. Sophomore Olivia Wisor added two goals in the fourth period and Burke added another score to earn herself a hat trick on the day. 

What follows next for the Profs is another trip to Ewing, NJ, on May 3 to face TCNJ in the NJAC Championship game after the Lions defeated Stockton 17-9 in their semi-final matchup. The face off will be a rematch of the last three consecutive championship games, all of which were won by TCNJ.

TCNJ’s women’s lacrosse team has been the powerhouse in the NJAC for years, despite there being some strong Rowan team’s as well. The Profs are a whopping 1-27 all time against the Lions since their first meeting 20 years ago in 2005.

The Profs outshot TCNJ on the box-score during last Saturday’s matchup, outshooting the Lions 25-20 as well as having less turnovers. But, a dominant showing from TCNJ Goalkeeper Julia Charest kept the Profs relentless offense at bay. Delaney considered it as more of shooting more rather than better for her team’s offensive attack. 

“We had a lot of shots, not good ones,” Delaney said. “You can’t shoot that many times and shoot the goalie in the chest. It’s that simple, we just didn’t play well.”

Green also spoke about what needed to be harped on to perform better offensively in the rematch. 

“Our goalie coach actually gave us a really good breakdown of what we did wrong on Saturday, just making sure we move the goalie, make her go post to post,” Green said.

The Lions dominance goes beyond their record versus the Profs, as they’ve won 14 of the past 15 NJAC Championships. Their lone loss that kept it from being the epitome of dominance, a loss to the Profs in 2010 by a score of 12-11. TCNJ was ranked No. 1 nationally going into that contest. A win on Saturday would further cement the legacy this team has left for the program, as they’re already a shoe-in for the NCAA tournament.

Green says a NJAC Championship win would be a great end to her and her fellow senior teammates dominant season.

“I think that it would just be a perfect part of our senior season, but also knowing that it doesn’t stop there,” Green said. “It’s something we’ve been working towards for four years and we’ve had games where we’ve gotten so close and games where we haven’t been close at all, so I think it would really encapsulate what the seniors have worked towards.”