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Smithfield, RI – Sophomore Paul DeVita (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) matched his career high by recording his second hat trick of the season  but it wasn't enough as Wagner dropped a 15-7 decision to No. 20 Bryant in Northeast Conference (NEC) men's lacrosse action today in the Seahawks' season finale.
Wagner ends the 2014 season with an overall record of 2-11, 0-6 in the NEC, while the Bulldogs, who head into next week's NEC Tournament with the No. 2 seed, improve to 12-4, 5-1 in league play.

This was a dogfight early as the game was tied at 4-4 after the first quarter of play. After junior Cory Santor (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 12:23, Bryant ran off three straight goals to jump in front by a 3-1 count. The Seahawks fought back to tie it at 3-3 on consecutive goals by freshman Christian McCormick (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford) and DeVita.

With Wagner trailing 4-3, Santor again even the scored, knocking home an unassisted goal with 28 seconds to go in the opening quarter to make it a 4-4 game after the first period. The Bulldogs took control in the second quarter, out-shooting the Seahawks 13-1 while embarking on a 6-0 run in taking a 10-4 lead at intermission.

Bryant held a slim 2-1 edge in the third quarter to take a 12-5 lead heading to the fourth. When DeVita completed his hat trick with an unassisted goal just 10 seconds into the final stanza, the Seahawks were to within 12-6. This is as close as the Seahawks would get, however, as the Bulldogs scored the next three goals en route to the 15-7 win.

James Tucker, Shane Morrell and Dan Sipperly paced Bryant with three goals apiece. Tucker was the game's high scorer as he added four assists which gave him seven points on the day. Alex Zomerfield chipped in with two goals and a game-high four assists for the Bulldogs.

Bryant outshot Wagner 53-24, led in groundballs 43-24 and won 19-of-25 faceoffs. The Bulldogs were 3-of-3 on extra-man opportunities while Wagner was 1-of-6.

While the won-loss record may not show it, Wagner, under the guidance of third-year coach Matt Poskay, continued to show improvement in many areas this season, displaying a more competitive and consistent brand of lacrosse. Among the Seahawk defeats were a pair of tough one-goal decisions, to Detroit by a 9-8 count on March 8, which came on a last-second goal. The next time out, on March 15, Wagner dropped another hard-fought game, losing Vermont 11-10 in double-overtime.

Redshirt freshman Patrick McMenamin (Longport, NJ/At. Augustine Prep) led the 2014 Seahawks in points (29) and assists (13), while tying DeVita for team-high honors in goals with 16. Sophomore Griffen Leclaire (White Rock, BC/Toronto, Hill Academy) tallied 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists), to finish second in scoring, followed by DeVita's 20 points (16 goals, 4 assists), and 14 (12 goals, 2 assists) by junior Cory Santor (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury). Sophomore Billy Battaglia (Madison, NJ/Madison) was Wagner's fifth double-digit scorer with 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists).

In the X, redshirt freshman William McMenamin (Longport, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) was having a quality season, having won 56-of-109 faceoffs (51.4%) while collecting a team-best 43 groundballs, before suffering a season-ending leg injury in game seven at Richmond (3/21). In his stead, freshman Anthony Labetti (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) showed great promise winning 56-of-122 faceoffs (45.9%) while collecting 32 groundballs.

Junior Matt Bunting (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) and sophomore Daniel Valencia (Gaithersburg, MD/Gaitherburg), were active and productive all season, finishing with 21 and 19 caused turnovers, respectively, which has helped the Seahawks lead the nation in this category.

Senior goalie Nicholas Gibaldi (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) delivered his fourth consecutive solid season as a starter, coming up with 147 saves, a 12.33 goals against average, and a .490 save percentage while logging 715:10 between the pipes. Sophomore Anthony Peruso (Warwick, NY / John S. Burke Catholic) displayed a host of potential for the future, with a .636 save percentage on 14 saves with a goals against average of 8.25 in 58:13 in goal.

Wagner graduates just three seniors in Gibaldi, Matthew Shute (Suffield, CT/Suffield) and David Szilezy (Apex, NC/Cardinal Gibbons) and will welcome a deep and talented 16-man recruiting class who will be freshmen during the 2015 season.
 
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