Pictured Above: Anthony Labetti won 14-of-20 faceoffs with a game-high seven groundballs today (photo by Bob Park)

Box Score (PDF) I Box Score (HTML)

Coach Poskay Post-Game Comments

Staten Island, NY – The three McMenamin brothers combined for seven goals, three assists and nine groundballs as Wagner overcame a 3-0 deficit in recording a 10-8 win over NJIT this afternoon at Hameline Field, evening the Seahawks' record at 5-5 while setting a program-record for most victories in a single season.
 
The five wins posted thus far by the Seahawks eclipse the record of four set last season for a program which began in 1999. Today's victory came in Wagner's final non-conference contest of the season as the Seahawks, who are 0-1 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play, now meet five consecutive conference foes beginning with an April 2 home test vs. Saint Joseph's.
 
Redshirt-junior midfielder William McMenamin (Lonngport, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) paced Wagner with four goals while his identical twin and fellow redshirt-junior middie Patrick McMenamin accounted for two goals and three assists. Older brother Michael McMenamin, a fifth-year senior defensive middie, also got into the act offensively with a second-half goal while each of the brothers collected three groundballs on the day.
 
The Green & White had plenty of scoring chances in the opening half but were unable to get one shot past NJIT goalie Nick Marzullo who was magnificent in the first half, recording 11 of his 16 saves over the game's first 30 minutes as the Highlanders grabbed that 3-0 lead at the intermission.
 
The momentum of the game shifted dramatically in Wagner's favor at the outset of the second half when junior Anthony Labetti (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) won the opening faceoff, scooping up the groundball himself before finding Patrick McMenamin. The midfielder then located freshman long-stick defender Riley Owens who proceeded to connect on a 20-yard blast, the first score of his career, to make it a 3-1 game just 11 seconds into the second half.
 
The Owens goal seemed to send a jolt throughout a Seahawk lineup that was frustrated after coming off of its first scoreless half of the season, and ignited a 4-0 scoring spree. William McMenamin drew Wagner to within 3-2 with a goal at 12:09, which came on the first of three assists notched by sophomore attackman Andrew Strelein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape).
 
The Seahawks then quickly tied the game 10 seconds later at 3-3 with a bang-bang goal similar to the Owens goal that began the half. Labetti again led this quick-strike sequence, winning the faceoff by collecting the groundball before feeding ahead to Patrick McMenamin, who then buried a shot from 10 yards out.
 
A brother act then combined on the go-ahead goal as William McMenamin connected off an assist from Patrick at the 7:34 mark of the third quarter to complete the 4-0 run and give Wagner a 4-3 lead. NJIT's Jesse Rice then sank a goal at 4:04 of the third after receiving a pass from Aaron Forster as the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 4-4.
 
After William McMenamin gave the Seahawks a 5-4 lead off an assist from Streilein two minutes into the final period, the Highlanders responded with a Ryan Bradway unassisted tally at the 12:04 mark which forged the game's final tie at 5-5.
 
Wagner then embarked on a game-changing 3-0 run on goals by Streilein, William McMenamin and freshman attackman Kevin Gray (Shamong, NJ/Seneca), the latter of which came with 8:43 left, and staked the Seahawks to an 8-5 lead. After Michael McMenamin stretched the lead back to three goals at 9-6 with an unassisted score at the 6:49 mark, NJIT rallied with goals by John Roach and Joe Lomelli to make it a 9-8 game with 1:01 left.
 
With NJIT forced to gamble by employing its goalie, Marzullo, as a defender in trying to force a turnover deep in the Highlanders' end, Patrick McMenamin snuck loose for a five-yard, open net goal with 34 seconds left to seal the win by putting the Seahawks ahead 10-8.
 
Freshman goalie Matt Sefcik (Towaco, NJ/Morristown Beard School) was stout in goal, recording seven saves on the day as Wagner outscored NJIT 10-5 in the second half en route to the in.
 
The Seahawks held a 41-22 edge in shots and led in groundballs 36-30. Labetti played a key role in the victory, winning 14-of-20 faceoffs for Wagner as the Seahawks won 15-of-22 overall, while collecting a game-high seven ground balls.

 Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and @WagnerLacrosse for information pertaining specifically to the Seahawk men's lacrosse program