FINAL STATS

Hamden, CT – Freshmen midfielders Melanie Garces (San Diego, CA/ Westview) and Carolyn Clark (Syracuse, NY/ Westhill) poured in four and three goals, respectively in leading Wagner to a pair of comebacks but Quinnipiac was able to stave off the Seahawks en route to its seventh straight win.

Quinnipiac improves to 11-2 on the season, 6-1 in the NEC while Wagner falls to 4-11 overall, 3-4 in conference play.

The Bobcats galloped out to an early 7-1 and appeared on their way to coasting to a one-sided victory before the gritty, gutsy Seahawks scored six of the next goals to go into halftime trailing by just a 9-7 count.

Junior attack Janine Bright (Commack, NY/ Commack), who returned to the lineup after missing the last two games due to injury, started the Seahawks' 6-2 run with a goal at the 11:39 mark of the first half off an assist by senior midfielder Cara Gonzalez (Syracuse, NY/ Westhill). Garces, whose four goals marked a career high, followed with a goal after receiving a pass from senior attack Kelly Blundin (Plymouth Meeting, PA/ Plymouth Whitemarsh). This tally was followed by an unassisted goal by Clark that made it a 7-4 game.

After the Bobcats notched a goal to go up 8-4, Wagner scored three of the next four goals before halftime, two by junior midfielder Krista Malayter (Cheshire, CT/ Cheshire) that were sandwiched around Garces' second goal of the game.

Quinnipiac exploded out of the gates in the second half, scoring nine of the next 10 goals to take a seemingly commanding 18-9 lead. The Seahawks, showing that same fight and spirit they demonstrated in mounting their first-half rally, then closed the game by scoring five unanswered goals before simply running out of time.

Malayter notched a season-high three goals on the afternoon for the Seahawks, who received a nine-save outing from junior goalie Alex Johnston (Manlius, NY/ Fayetteville-Manlius).

Ashley Valentine and Tiffany Manzi scored six and four goals, respectively to lead the Bobcats, whose goalie Hannah Nelson had nine saves.

Quinnipiac held a 33-27 edge in shot and a 22-11 lead in draw controls while Wagner held a 15-14 advantage in ground balls. The Bobcats were 3-of-5 on free position attempts while the Seahawks were successful on 3-of-7 free positions.

Wagner is next in action on Sunday, April 19 at 1:00 pm when they travel to Sacred Heart for a 1:00 pm start.