EWING, N.J. - The Catholic women's lacrosse team took on No. 16 TCNJ on Saturday afternoon for their first road match up of the season. The Cardinals battled through the contest, but ultimately fell to the Lions, 12-8.

TCNJ came out hot in the first quarter, scoring four goals in a span of two minutes, including two from Marissa Lucca. Catholic responded in the fifth minute of play when Annie Galarza found the back of the net off an assist from Izzy Fiore. The Cardinals trailed 6-1 heading into the second quarter.

Henley Bredemann began her standout day in the second quarter, collecting a ground ball and converting a shot to notch her first goal of the game. Within the minute, Catholic picked up their third goal as Maddie McDevitt scored off a feed from Tori Wilsey. 

Later in the quarter, Bredmann recorded her second goal in a man-down situation off a pass from Maggie Traynor. The Cardinals went into the halftime break trailing 4-8.

Catholic struck quickly after the intermission, as Traynor added her second goal of the season, assisted by Peyton Wozniak, and cut the deficit to three. Ellie Verrill netted another goal in the third quarter as the Cardinals continued their comeback push. The Cardinals trailed 6-11 heading into the final quarter.

Catholic was determined to stay in the fight against the Lions, picking up two more goals in the fourth quarter. Bredemann completed her hat trick on an assist from Lindsay Sawyer, and Sawyer followed with a goal of her own. Despite their efforts, the Cardinals fell to the Lions 8-12, bringing their record to 0-2 overall.

Bredemann led the charge for Catholic, contributing three goals during the game, bringing her season total to five. Sawyer follows with three goals this year.

Catholic was strong on the draw control front, winning 16 draws to TCNJ's six. Olivia Daniels paced the team with seven draw controls, while also recording five caused turnovers, and six ground balls. Bredemann added four draws, while Traynor tallied four ground balls.

In goal, Alexandra Ragano made 10 saves against the Lions.

The Cardinals will continue their road stint next Saturday, Feb. 28 in Salem, Va. where they will face off against Roanoke. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Donald J. Kerr Stadium.