Lax shocks TCNJ, breaks three decade long drought

For Rowan University lacrosse, last Thursday’s trip to Ewing was one to remember. These Profs can tell their families how they broke a three-decade-plus hex against The College of New Jersey dynasty that won 12 championships since the tournament’s inception in 1985.

The Profs shocked the top-ranked Lions, who were just one of two unbeaten teams coming into game, with a 12-11 victory. The upset was the school’s first win against TCNJ since 1979, according to Rowan’s sports information department.

Junior mid-fielder Nicole Valianti dominated on both sides of the ball and led the team with four goals, helping to break a 41-game losing streak against the Lions. Freshman attack Ellen Brigham added three goals of her own, including Rowan’s last two goals to help keep the team in front late in the second half.

“I think the win is for all the alumni,” said head coach Lindsay Delaney, who played for Rowan from 2000-03. “As an alumnus, I couldn’t be prouder. It was a real surreal moment for me.”

Rowan held the lead for 54:49 of the 60 minutes in the game. Junior mid-fielder Alli Dickey started things off for the Profs less than three minutes into the game with her 21st goal of the season. TCNJ’s Leigh Mitchell and Kathleen Notos countered to give the Lions a brief 2-1 lead, but Rowan came back with four consecutive goals to put the Profs ahead for good.

“There was mixed emotions throughout the entire game. There was nervousness, anxiety, but it was just a great feeling,” said junior mid-fielder Trish Harrington.

Senior attack Alayna Morris tied the game at two with her 22nd goal of the season,with Valianti scoring 32 seconds later for the go-ahead goal. Brigham scored with 6:20 left to extend the lead to 11-9 and again with 1:43 left to make the lead 12-10.

“It was just surreal, and it took me a while to realize we actually did it,” Morris said. “Just the whole time we had the lead, it was crazy.”

The Profs survived the TCNJ onslaught despite seven goals and two assists by Mitchell. In many ways Mitchell compensated for fellow star Alison Jaeger, who was limited to just one goal thanks to the shut down defense of Valianti. Jaeger came into game with 51 goals in just 10 games, but Valianti locked her down.

“Her [Jaeger] teammates were setting picks for her, trying to get open because she wanted the ball,” Valianti said. “I just needed to stay on her so we could take one of the leading scorers out and make them work harder.”

While this game was just one of the 16 in the 2010 season for the Profs, it  stands as the team’s crowning achievement with two weeks left in the regular season. By Saturday, the Profs got back to business as usual, preparing for Tuesday’s game against Catholic University, who the Profs lost in the NCAA Tournament two years ago. Their next game is tonight at Rutgers-Camden.