Photo by Dave Saffran
Post-Game Interview:
Ally Alliegro (with Allison Gaskins)
Post-Game Interview:
Head Coach
Katie Rowan (with Joe Vasile)
Box Score (PDF)
Staten Island, NY – History was made at sun-splashed Hameline Field on Wednesday as Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year
Ally Alliegro had a hat trick, to go with four assists, while fellow freshman midfielder
Erin Kerstetter, junior attack
Marjorie Dehm, and sophomore attack
Stephanie Falcone added two goals each in leading Wagner to a 13-9 win over Mercer in the preliminary round of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship.
The win adds to the Seahawks' single-season program record for most victories as Wagner improved to 14-5 on the season. The previous record for wins in a season was 11, held by the 2006 (11-6) and 2014 teams (11-7).
With the loss, the Southern Conference-champion Bears end up with a final season record of 9-11.
Today's preliminary round victory sends the Seahawks into the first round of the NCAA Championship at
Towson University (15-4) on Friday, May 11. Opening draw between the No. 7 nationally-seeded Tigers and the Green & White is set for 3:00 p.m.
Towson, which competes in the talent-rich Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), are making their 10
th NCAA appearance and third straight. The winner of the Wagner-Towson game will advance to the second round on Sunday, May 13 against the winner of Friday's contest vs. Northwestern and Richmond.
In addition to recording the first NCAA win in program history today, the 2018 Seahawks became the fourth Wagner team ever, and second in as many days, to win an NCAA playoff game. On Tuesday, the women's water polo team defeated UC San Diego, the same team the Green & White knocked off in the 2017 NCAA Championship.
The fourth team in Wagner history to ever claim an NCAA playoff win was the 2012 Seahawk football team, which defeated Colgate in a first-round game.
For the six seniors on this 2018 NEC championship team, today's win was the 40
th in their respective careers, which is a senior class program record. The previous record for wins by a senior class was 37, held by the 2017 Seahawks.
Wagner jumped out to a 4-1 lead 10 minutes into the game as senior attack
Heidi Colford, junior attack
Anna Belle Reilly, Falcone, and Dehm each found the back of the net. The quick and athletic Bears then put together their best seven-minute stretch of play on the afternoon, going on off a 3-0 run, capped by a Kate Leone score with 9:13 left in the half that tied it at 4-4.
With 6:36 left in the half, freshman attack
Stefani Peluso put the Seahawks back in the lead at 5-4 with a goal off the second assist of the game from senior midfielder
Lauren Ednie. The Bears answered with just 12 seconds left in the half on a goal by Jo Imbriani which made it a 5-5 game at the break.
As has been the norm in the majority of games this season, third-year head coach
Katie Rowan turned to senior
Kelsey Fee in the second half, in place of senior
Lucy Darlington, who had recorded five first-half saves.
Fee came up with a big save on Mercer's first possession of the second half on a point-blank blast by Kelly Hagerty. After a nearly five-minute stretch of scroreless play by both teams, Ednie put Wagner into the lead for good 6-5 on a free position shot.
After Ednie broke the seal, Alligero and Dehm answered with quick-strike goals, the latter off a Colford assist at the 23:53 mark that gave the Seahawks an 8-5 lead. It then appeared that Wagner had taken a four-goal lead but a goal by Ednie from in close, was negated as the senior was called for her second yellow card for a dangerous follow through.
Instead of being up by a 9-5 count, the score remained 8-5 and the Seahawks were faced with the prospect of playing the game's final 22:56 without the services of the NEC Midfielder of the Year.
With Ednie on the bench, Mercer struck for consecutive scores by Leone at 22:21, and Lindsey Zeltwagner at 18:47, to draw within one goal at 8-7. The Seahawks, however, responded in championship form, going on a 4-0 run, on two goals apiece from the freshman midfield tandem of Alliegro and Kerstetter.
This 4-0 outburst put Wagner in command at 12-7 with 6:45 left en route to the 13-9 win.
Fee wound up with five big second-half saves while allowing just four goals. Freshman midfielder midfielder
Madeline Seims came up big once again in the draw control department, matching her career high with 9 DC's.
Leone, Zeltwagner and Imbriani paced Mercer in scoring with two goals each while Iseabal Cryne had 10 saves in goal.
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