FINAL STATS

Fairfield, CT – Junior kicker Bryan Maley (Eagle River, Alaska/Chugiak) converted the first three field goal attempts of his career, including a 45-yarder with four seconds left in the game, to lift Wagner to a stirring 23-20 victory over previously unbeaten Sacred Heart in front of a school-record crowd of 4,288 at Campus Field.

The Seahawks pulled out the win after Sacred Heart scored 17 consecutive fourth-quarter points in erasing a 20-3 deficit and tying the game at 20-20 with 2:02 to go on a Chris Rogers 31-yard field goal Strong-armed senior quarterback Kramer Berg (Plymouth, MN/Wayzata/Rochester CC) then came on in place of redshirt freshman Chris Andrews (Queens, NY/St. Joseph's/Valley Forge Academy) on the game's final possession.

Despite having attempted just two passes  while seeing action in one game coming into today's contest, Berg calmly hit 3-of-4 passes for 31 yards to key a nine-play, 43-yard drive. This march culminated in the game-winning kick by Maley, who started in place of fifth-year senior David Lopez (Plantation, FL/ American Heritage), who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

Also demonstrating precision under pressure during the game-winning drive was junior wide receiver Anthony Carrington (Toms River. NJ/ Toms River North), who had clutch receptions of 13 and eight yards over the middle, and redshirt sophomore H-back Ralph Greene (Tigard, OR/Tigard), who made a big 10-yard grab along the sideline.

In breaking a four-game losing streak, the defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Seahawks improved to 2-4 on the season and evened their league record at 1-1. The Pioneers fell to 5-1 on the season and are 0-1 in NEC play.

Fifth-year senior running back Dominique Williams gained a hard-fought 108 yards rushing on 29 carries, in topping the century mark for the 25^th time in his 38-game career, while Andrews completed 8-of-17 passes for 70 yards.

Much of the credit for this road victory goes to the yeoman's effort delivered by the Seahawk defensive line. Sophomore nose tackle Fidel Okoye (Williamstown, NJ/ Williamstown) paced the Seahawks with seven tackles, while fifth-year senior defensive tackle Lawrence Williams and junior safety Daquan Cooper, former teammates at George Washington HS in Philadelphia, came up with six stops apiece.

After Wagner took a 10-3 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Seahawks turned in the defensive play of the game in the third quarter when junior linebacker Trevor Loveland (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) recorded a blind-sided sack and strip of Pioneer QB AJ Noel. The fumble was scooped up and returned 23 yards for a touchdown by sophomore defensive lineman Mike Mentor (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen/Fork Union), which came at the 8:24 mark of the third quarter, and widened the Wagner lead to 17-3.

An Okoye fumble recovery led to Maley's first 45-yard field goal which gave the Green & White  20-3 lead with 44 seconds left in the third quarter. After the Wagner field goal, the SHU offense found a spark as Spence ripped off an electrifying 55-yard run up the right sideline, breaking two tackles along the way. Two plays later, Noel found wide receiver Greg Moore in the back corner of the end zone to cut Wagner's lead to 20-10.

Following a Wagner punt, Sacred Heart once again moved the ball down field to set-up a 14-yard touchdown completion from Noel to sophomore wide out Moses Webb.  Dube ignited the drive with a 15-yard reception, followed by a couple short completions to Moore. Two plays later, Noel hitr wide receiver Bobby Johnson for a 16-yard completion to put SHU on the Wagner 17-yard line. The Seahawk defense then stiffened, as SHU was forced to attempt the game-tying field goal, which Rogers converted, from 31 yards out.

Sacred Heart kicked off the game's scoring with a Rogers 29-yard field goal after SHU received the opening kickoff and drove the ball 64 yards in 12 plays.  A 19-yard completion from Noel to tight end Frank Bakirtzis highlighted the drive.

After falling behind by that 3-0 count at the outset, the Wagner defense went to work, stopping Sacred Heart on its next eight drives, forcing five punts and three fumbles. All four of SHU's first downs in the opening half came on the game's first drive as the Pioneers mustered just 28 yards the rest of the half.

The Seahawks took a 7-3 lead on a 12-yard touchdown dash by Williams that capped a crisp 12-play, 58-yard drive that took 5:09. Wagner extended the lead to 10-3 on a 32-yard Maley field goal, which was the first of his career, at the 44-second mark of the opening half as Wagner secured the 10-3 halftime lead.

Sacred Heart linebacker Kellen Sperduto registered a school-record 22 tackles in the defeat, including 3.5 tackles for loss. The Sacred Heart defense, as a whole, came up with four sacks, 12 tackles for loss and an interception. Offensively, wide receiver Tyler Dube caught six balls for 125 yards while junior running back Keshaudas Spence gained 90 yards on 16 carries.

Statistically, SHU outgained Wagner 324-243 as the Seahawks held a 186-128 edge on the ground while the Pioneers held a 212-101 advantage in passing yards. Wagner had 17 first downs on the afternoon while SHU managed 14.

The Seahawks will look to make it two wins in a row next week when they make the long trek to Pittsburgh to meet Duquesne on Saturday, October 12 in a Noon kickoff.