2016 NEC WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP HEADQUARTERS
Smithfield, RI – Senior attacker
Tori McGrath (Delmar, NY / Bethlehem Central) poured in a career-high five goals and senior midfielder
Shea Gegan (Belmar, NY / Manasquan) added a hat trick in leading the second-seeded Wagner women's lacrosse team to a convincing 17-7 win over third-seeded Robert Morris and into the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game for the third straight season.
Awaiting the Seahawks, for a third straight time, will be number-one seed Bryant, which needed overtime to get past fourth-seeded Sacred Heart, 13-12, in the other semifinal matchup earlier today. Wagner and Bryant will meet for the NEC title on Sunday, May 8 with opening draw set for 1:00 p.m.
In winning their sixth consecutive game, on this cold, soggy night, Wagner improves to 9-8 on the season while the Colonials see their season come to an end with a mark of 9-8.
The Seahawks, who gained a share of the NEC regular season title for the first time in program history, finishing with the same 6-1 league mark as Bryant, have lost to the Bulldogs in the championship game in each of the last two seasons.
Bryant earned the top seed and home field edge for the four-team tourney by virtue of a 7-4 victory over Wagner back on April 10 in Staten Island.
"Our team is really tough and they play with a lot of heart and hustle," said
Katie Rowan, who is new to the Wagner-Bryant rivalry as she is in her first season at the helm of the Seahawk program. "Tonight, we wanted to win every 50-50 ball, the draw controls, the groundballs. I thought we scrapped it out and played smart offense and smart defense tonight."
McGrath tallied four of her five goals in the opening half as Wagner used a 4-0 run to erase an early 3-2 deficit in building a 6-3 halftime lead. With Wagner on top 7-4 early in the second half, the Seahawks put the game away by scoring seven unanswered goals in building a commanding 14-4 lead en route to the 17-7 win.
McGrath paced Wagner offensively with five points, all coming on her five goals, while Gegan added four points, contributing an assist to her three-goal effort. Senior attacker
Stephanie Peterson (Vernon, NJ / Vernon Township) finished with three points (2g, 1a) while sophomore attacker
Heidi Colford added two points (2g).
Scoring one goal apiece for the Seahawks were senior midfielder
Gretchen Fay (Spring Lake Heights, NJ / Manasquan), senior attacker
Kimmy Tumolo (Mullica Hill, NJ / Clearview Regional), sophomore midfielder
Lauren Ednie (Verona, NJ / Verona), sophomore midfielder
April Simmons (Branford, CT / Branford) and freshman attacker
Anna Belle Reilly (Paradise Valley, AZ / Notre Dame Prep).
Senior
Katie Ferraro (Owings Mill, MD / McDonogh) recorded three saves in 56:15 before sophomore
Lucy Darlington came on to play the final 3:45 in net.
Robert Morris was led by Jessica Karwacki and Katie Breeze who notched three and two goals, respectively. In goal, Sarah Arnold was credited with one save in the game's initial 38:31 before giving way to Becky Schoenecker who came on to record three saves over the final 21:29.
Team-wise, Wagner held the upper hand in shots, 26-16, and were particularly effective in free position opportunities, as the Seahawks connected on six of their seven FPO's while RMU was just 3-of-8 in this category,
The Seahawks led in groundballs, 18-13, while the Colonials held a 13-12 edge in draw controls.
So now, Wagner and Bryant face one another with the NEC's automatic NCAA bid on the line for a third straight time.
"It's been a great rivalry the past few years and it's fun to now be a part of it," said Rowan. "Bryant's a great team. Both teams are going to come out ready to play so it should be a great game."
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