UNION, N.J. (10/30/08) - The College of New Jersey won its third straight New Jersey Athletic Conference field hockey championship, defeating host Kean University, 4-0, on Thursday evening. The fifth-ranked Lions (13-2, 6-0 NJAC) scored twice in the first eight minutes of the game and added two more first-half goals to close out the scoring. With the victory, TCNJ wins their 22nd conference championship and earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

For the Cougars (13-4, 3-1 NJAC), sophomore Ashlie Berghold (Boyertown, Pa.) made three saves.

The Lions jumped out to the early 1-0 lead when senior Jenny Lubin (Moorestown, N.J.) took a pass from freshman Alex Okuniewicz (Toms River, N.J.) for the game-winner just 3:43 into the game.

Sophomore Leigh Mitchell (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) netted the next two goals off assists from senior Jackie Gelinas (Flemington, N.J.) at 7:44 and 17:33 to extend the lead to 3-0 midway through the first half.

With just 1.5 seconds remaining in the first half, Okuniewicz closed out the scoring with the unassisted goal.

The Lions held a 15-4 advantage in shots and a 15-5 edge in penalty corners.