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Coach Frisoli Post-Game Interview (with Shawn-Marie Heiliger)

Staten Island, NY – Junior attack Stephanie Peterson (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township) poured in a career-high six goals while junior midfielder Shea Gegan (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan) scored five goals and dished out two assists as the Wagner women's lacrosse team broke open a tie game with 11 straight second-half goals in running past LIU Brooklyn 19-10.
 
The victory was the Seahawks' fifth straight and gives Wagner its first 4-0 Northeast Conference (NEC) start in program history while evening their season record at 7-7. With the loss, the Blackbirds fall to 2-2 in the NEC and 6-7 overall.
 
The win also keeps the Seahawks in a first-place tie in the NEC Standings as Bryant, which defeated Wagner in the 2014 NEC Championship game, knocked off Robert Morris 17-13 today to remain at 4-0 in league. The Seahawks and Bulldogs will meet on Friday, April 24 in Smithfield, RI.
 
In addition to being a career high, Peterson's six goals give her 14 in her last three games as the 5-7 attacker tallied four goals in each of Wagner's previous two games, vs. Robert Morris and Saint Francis U.
 
In addition to her five goals and two assists, Gegan, the reigning ECAC Division I Metro/Upstate and NEC Defensive Player of the Week, contributed five ground balls, five caused turnovers and five draw controls. The 2014 NEC Defensive Player of the Year entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in caused turnovers (3.77) and ground balls per game (4.31).
 
Wagner led by just a 5-4 count at halftime while holding a narrow 15-11 edge in shots. In the second half, the Seahawks turned up the heat, outscoring the Blackbirds 14-6 while outshooting their local rivals by a commanding 30-9 margin.
 
With the score tied at 8-8 after LIU Brooklyn deposited a free-position shot with 16:45 to play in the game, the Seahawks won the next five draw controls which led to give straight goals as part of an 11-0 run that carried the Seahawks to a 19-8 lead before the Blackbird hit for two goals in the final 1:14 of the game.
 
Peterson scored four goals during the 11-0 outburst, including the first two scores while sophomore attack Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) buried the last two goals of the run on her way to a three-goal afternoon.
 
Speedy junior attack Kimmy Tumolo (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview) finished with four points on a goal and a game-high three assists, while junior midfielder Gretchen Fay (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan) added two goals. Scoring one goal apiece for the Seahawks, who had seven different players find the net, were junior attack Taylor Pastore (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) and senior midfielder Jessica Mills (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township).
 
The Seahawks delivered their customary brand of brilliant defense in this one. Entering today's play ranked No. 1 nationally with 12.77 CTs per game, and No. 2 nationally in ground balls per game (22.23), the Green & White increased both of those averages by collected 29 ground balls and coming up with 16 caused turnovers vs. the Blackbirds.
 
With the game knotted at 8-8, second-year head coach Liz Frisoli inserted senior Shannon Sweeny (Madison, NJ/Madison) at goalie in place of junior Katie Ferraro (Owings Mill, MD/McDonogh). It was at this moment when Wagner won its first of five consecutive draw controls. By the time Sweeney faced her first shot, the Seahawks were in front by a comfortable 13-8 margin. In 16:45 between the pipes, Sweeney, who recorded a career-high 13 saves while playing the entire 60 minutes in last Saturday's 19-10 Senior Day win over Saint Francis U, was credited with three saves while giving up two goals.
 
In her 43:15-second stint, Ferraro, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in the NEC with a .490 save percentage,  came up with four saves while giving up eight goals.
 
The aggressive and opportunistic Seahawk defense forced LIU Brooklyn into eight turnovers on clear attempts as the Blackbirds were successful on just 7-of-15 clearing chances. Overall, LIU Brooklyn turned the ball over 23 times while the Seahawks were efficient in their possessions, committing just eight turnovers on the afternoon. The one category in which LIU Brooklyn excelled was on free-position shots as the Blackbirds were 4-of-4 in FPO's while Wagner was 2-of-8 in this category.
 
Wagner outshot LIU Brooklyn 45-20, held a 29-16 edge in ground balls while winning the draw control battle by a 17-14 count.
 
Jenn Peters was the Blackbirds' most dangerous offensive force, finishing with a team-high five goals. Rader and Mary McQueen added two goals apiece for LIU Brooklyn while Sierra O'Connor had one.
 
In goal, Alexis Maldonado surrendered 16 goals while making 12 saves in the game's first 51:59 before Darrien Diez came on to record two saves while allowing three goals in the final 8:01 of the contest.
 
The Seahawks will look to make it a 5-0 NEC start on Sunday, April 19 when Sacred Heart meets Wagner at Hameline Field in a 1:00 p.m. start. The Green & White will conclude the 2015 regular season with road tilts at Bryant on April 24 and at Central Connecticut on April 26.
 
NOTES: Wagner has won its last two games, over SFU and LIU Brooklyn, by identical 19-10 scores. In galloping out to their first 4-0 NEC start in program history, the Seahawks have nearly doubled the output of their league counterparts, holding a 66-35 edge in goals, which computes to an average final score of 17-9. In addition, all four of Wagner's NEC victories have come by six-goal margins or more.
 
WAGNER IN 2015 NEC Play
April 3:  Wagner 13, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 7
April 10: WAGNER 15, Robert Morris 8
April 12: WAGNER 19, Saint Francis U 10
April 17: WAGNER 19, LIU Brooklyn 10




 






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