Poughkeepsie, NY – Senior goalie
Kelsey Rodgers (Anaheim Hills, CA/Canyon/Fullerton JC) has had her share of memorable moments playing for the Wagner College Water Polo team (14-17, 4-2 MAAC), but few will be as exciting as the final seconds of the Seahawks' 11-10 win over the St. Francis (NY) Terriers.
Sophomore
Becca Hannings (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) scored Wagner's lone goal in the first period as the Seahawks fell behind early, 2-1.
Luckily, the Green and White were able to find their offensive groove in the second period – starting with the weekend's leading scorer, sophomore
Lauren French (Shillington, PA/North Penn), tallying her first goal of the game 1:33 into the quarter. Junior
Carina Giles (Mohton, PA/Governor Mifflin) and sophomore
Chelsea Beck (Reading, PA) each added goals around two Terrier scores before French nailed her second goal of the period to make the score 5-4 at halftime.
A 4-1 run to start the third period put the Seahawks comfortably ahead, 9-4 with 2:38 remaining in the quarter. Junior
Laura Vanderbent (Shillington, PA/North Penn) scored twice with French netting her third goal of the game in between Vanderbent's scores. Sophomore
Lauren Lovallo (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) added her second goal of the day before a Terrier goal to close the period, 9-5.
The Seahawks had a 10-6 lead after a goal from junior
Natalie Pyrz (Harleysville, PA/Souderton Area) with 5:17 remaining. Two extra-man advantage scores by St. Francis (NY) tightened the lead to 10-8, but Giles' second goal of the game at 1:54 put the Seahawks ahead, 11-8.
With under 1:30 remaining in the game, the Terriers scored their first goal on an extra man advantage to make the score 11-9. Only 24 seconds later, St. Franis (NY) added another goal to cut Wagner's lead to only one. With under a minute remaining, the Terriers had one last possession and a last second save from goalie Rodgers spoiled their comeback and resulted in the 11-10 final.
Rodgers made 15 saves in the game – none bigger than her last second save to preserve the Seahawks fourth MAAC Conference win of the season. For the third straight game, French led the team in scoring with three goals. She finished the weekend with 14 goals and one assists.
Despite French's outstanding offensive performance, Vanderbent still leads the team with 47 goals scored. French stands second with 45 goals and Beck ranks third with 41 goals.
The Seahawks return to action next week with two games at St Francis (NY) against Siena College and Iona College. On Sunday, the Wagner will host MAAC competition at the Spiro Sports Center. The Seahawks are scheduled to play St. Francis (NY) at 12:00 PM and against Marist College at 4:30 PM.