WEST CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University women's lacrosse sophomore Arden Kassaleh (Pompton Plains, N.J.) reached a historic milestone as she became the first player in program history to reach 100 career goals on Saturday.
 
The Cougars fell to Jefferson 17-11 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest. Caldwell falls to 3-8 overall and 3-4 in the CACC, while the Rams improve to 6-7, and 5-2 in conference play.
 
Jefferson got on the board with a pair of early goals to take a 2-0 lead. Juniors Rachel Lucia (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) and Maryellen McCarthy (Levittown, N.Y.) answered for Caldwell with goals to tie the score at the 16:59 mark.
 
The Rams retook the lead with a goal with 15:41 left in the opening half. The Cougars rallied back with two goals. Freshman Samantha Murphy (Pompton Plains, N.J.) netted a goal off a Lucia assist to pull even at three.
 
Senior Pamela Schenck (East Moriches, N.Y.) put Caldwell in the lead at 4-3 at the 12:45 mark off an assist from McCarthy. Jefferson closed the half with five goals to lead 8-4 at halftime.
 
Jefferson netted a goal early in the second half but Caldwell battled back. Lucia scored less than two minutes into the second half off an assist from Murphy. The Cougars continued their rally as Murphy scored twice and McCarthy added a goal at the 20:41 mark to cut the score to 9-8.
 
The Rams extended their lead to 12-8 with three goals midway through the second half. Schenck netted a goal with 11:51 to play in the game off an assist from McCarthy.
 
Kassaleh etched her name in the Cougar record book at the 9:31 mark, becoming the first Cougar to reach the 100-goal plateau since the program was established in 2014. She added a second goal with under five minutes to play.
 
Junior Nancy Benedetto (Jupiter, Fla.) recorded 17 saves in the game. McCarthy led the way with two goals and two assists. Murphy totaled three goals, one assist, four ground balls and three draw controls. Lucia chipped in two goals, one assist, four ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Schenck and Kassaleh each netted two goals and Kassaleh added three ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw controls. Grad Miranda Harrington (Neptune, N.J.) led the defense with three caused turnovers, while senior Rebecca Ryan (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) added two caused turnovers.
 
The Cougars travel to Holy Family University on Wednesday, April 18 for a CACC contest at 4 pm.