Smithfield, RI – Sophomore attacker Sam Morin (Rockville Centre, NY/ South Side) scored a game-high five goals and added one assist while senior attacker Carolyn Clark (Syracuse, NY/ Westhill) tallied a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists to lead the Wagner College women's lacrosse team to a thrilling 14-13 victory over Bryant.
 
With the victory, the Seahawks improve to 6-5 on the season, 1-2 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Bulldogs fall to 1-8 overall, 0-2 in league play.
 
This was a game of runs that featured seven ties and seven lead changes. Each team produced three scoring runs of three goals or more as the teams combined for 29 goals and 37 points.
 
Wagner took an early 3-1 lead on consecutive goals by senior midfielder Melanie Garces (San Diego, CA/ Westview), and two by Clark which came within a 15-second span. Bryant then found the offensive range, ripping off three straight goals of its own to go on top 4-3 with 20:40 left in the first half.
 
Wagner scored three of the next four goals, including two straight by Morin to go back on top 6-5 at the 13:49 mark. The Bulldogs then countered with a four-goal barrage, including three straight tallies from Haley Bloom, which staked Bryant to an 9-6 lead with 8:25 remaining in the opening half. It was then Wagner's turn to go on a run, closing the first half with two goals by Morin to make it 9-8 at intermission. The Seahawks maintained the momentum at the outset of the second half as goals by Clark and Morin completed a 4-0 run that bridged the halves and gave Wagner a 10-9 edge with 25:32 left.
 
A goal by Bryant's Mary Green forged the sixth tie of the game, this time at 10-10. The Seahawks would then open some breathing room, reeling off a four-goal arsenal to go up 14-10 with two of the markers coming from senior junior attacker Erika Bulken (Baldwinsville, NY/ C.W. Baker) and the other two provided by Garces and Clark. Bulken's goal at 11:54 capped the run and gave Wagner the four-goal cushion.
 
The Bulldogs would not go away, however, as they mounted one last charge, rattling home three consecutive goals, the last by Green at 8:46, to draw to within 14-13. But this would prove to be the last goal of the game scored by either team and the Wagner defense did the rest, aided by two big saves by freshman goalkeeper Shannon Sweeney,(Madison, NJ/ Madison) in securing the one-goal win.
 
In support of Morin and Clark's monster offensive games, Garces had a hat trick for the Seahawks, Bulken added two goals and two assists while Petrik was credited with two assists for the winners. Senior midfielder Denieda McCullough (Freeport, NY/ Freeport) made her presence felt with a team-high five draw controls and four ground balls while senior defender Casey Lindine (Easton, CT/ Joel Barlow).
 
Bloom paced Bryant with four goals while Lauren Sheridan added three. In goal, Sweeney had 10 saves for the Seahawks Lauren Flilippone made seven stops for the Bulldogs.
 
Statistically, Bryant held the upper hand in shots, 36-26, Wagner held a slim 15-14 edge in draw controls while each team collected 16 ground balls. Bryant was successful on 4-of-7 free-position shots while Wagner was 2-of-6 in FPOs.

The Seahawks are next in action on Sunday, April 1 when Wagner continues it's a road swing with a 1:00 pm matchup in New Britain, CT vs. the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut St.
 
NOTES - Clark is the team leader in goals (33) and points (39) while Morin, who has played in one less game, is right on her heels, in the second spot in goals (30) and points (36). Clark has now scored three or more goals in seven different games this season while Morin has recorded a hat trick or more six times. Sweeney has an 11.33 goals against average, a .474 save percentage and 74 saves. Her season record is 5-2.