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HIGHLIGHTS/POST-GAME INTERVIEWS WITH COACH ROWAN AND TOURNAMENT MVP TORI McGRATH

2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship

NEC Women's Lacrosse Championship Headquarters / NEC Women's Lacrosse Home Page

Smithfield, RI – The third time proved to be the charm for the Wagner women's lacrosse team as the No. 2 seeded Seahawks won the NEC Championship with an 11-7 win over top-seed Bryant, which had knocked off the Green & White in the league title game each of the last two seasons.
 
In winning its first NEC women's lacrosse championship game, Wagner is now an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division I Championship. First-round NCAA games will be held on Friday, May 13 at the site of the higher seed.

The Seahawks, who are led by their deep and talented 10-person senior class, will find out their opponent and destination on the NCAA Selection Show, which will be streamed live on NCAA.com tonight at 9:00 p.m. To log in to the show, click HERE.

Junior attacker Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Lenape) scored a hat trick, three other Seahawks tallied two goals, including senior attacker Tori McGrath (Delmar, NY / Bethlehem Central), who was named Tournament MVP, while senior goalie Katie Ferraro (Owings Mill, MD / McDonogh) turned away 12 shots in leading the Seahawks to victory.

"I'm so proud of our whole team and especially our seniors," said Wagner first-year head coach Katie Rowan afterwards. "They were so patient throughout the year as we worked through things and they remained confident and believing. There is no one who deserves this more than this group."

The Bulldogs struck first as NEC Offensive Player of the Year Nicole Britton found Catlin Brown for her first of three goals in the game just two minutes in. The defenses then went to work as the next eight minutes would remain scoreless until the Seahawks tied the game after senior attacker and All-NEC second teamer Kimmy Tumolo (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview) McGrath cutting in front of the net who found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Wagner then took a 2-1 lead with 10:33 remaining as senior Shea Gegan (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan), the two-time NEC Midfielder of the Year, connected with Streilein. After Bryant scored two unanswered goals in taking their lone lead of the game, at 3-2, McGrath tied the game at 3-3 off a feed from Gegan before sophomore attacker Heidi Colford (Eden Praire, MN / Eden Praire) got into the act, notching the go-ahead score off of a McGrath assist with 1:13 left in the half.
 
The Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the game and gain momentum when Caitlin Brown attempted a free positon shot with .09 left in the half but Ferraro came up with a huge save.

The Seahawks kept their offensive execution going after the break embarking on a 3-0 run sparked by senior attacker Stephanie Peterson (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township), who netted the first goal of the half to put the team up by two. Wagner increased its lead to three less than a minute later as Streilein struck again with 26:08 remaining. Colford then sank her second goal of the afternoon, this one off a Tumolo assist with 19:05 to play as Wagner widened its lead to 7-3.

Bryant ended a 19:19 scoring drought, which bridged the two halves, when Brown netted her third goal of the game to bring the team within three at 7-4 at the 15:05 mark. Wagner countered with goals by Tumolo and Streilein to open a 9-4 lead with 9:28 to play and the Seahawks remained firmly in control the rest of the way.   

McGrath, who tallied two goals and an assist for the Seahawks this afternoon, finished with seven goals in two games, as she found the net five times in Friday night's 17-7 semifinal win over Robert Morris, to earn Tournament MVP honors.

Brown led the scoring for the Bulldogs, earning All-Tournament accolades after recording three goals to go with an assist and caused turnover.

Today's championship title featured a pair of head coaches who are forrmer college teammates as Rowan and Bryant head coach Jill Batcheller played together for two seasons at Syracuse. Rowan graduated in 2009 as the Oraneg's all-time career leader in points and assists, as she amassed 396 points on 232 goals and 164 assists in her career en route to becoming the school's initial three-time First-Team All-America selection. The nation's leading scorer 2008, Rowan was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy and the Honda Award.

She set single-season school records for points (142) and assists (69) that year and led the Orange to the national semifinals for the first time in school history. Rowan was a four-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection and a two-time BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year honoree.

As a senior, she was voted to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-America national first team as a senior after receiving second-team honors as a junior. Rowan earned the 2009 Soladay Award, which is the highest honor bestowed upon a Syracuse student-athlete.
 
Batcheller is a 2007 graduate of Syracuse where she was a four-year starting midfielder for the Orange. A two-time Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree and three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, she became just the eighth player in school history to reach 100-career points as she led her team in the inaugural BIG EAST Championship in 2007 as well as a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in 2005 and 2007.


2016 NEC All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP - Tori McGrath, Wagner
Gretchen Fay, Wagner
Katie Ferraro, Wagner
Shea Gegan, Wagner
Kimmy Tumolo, Wagner
Alyssa Pearce, Sacred Heart
Paige Hammick, Sacred Heart
Micah Brown, Robert Morris
Jessica Karwacki, Robert Morris
Catlin Brown, Bryant
Meaghan Brennan, Bryant
Molly Martin, Bryant

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) (@WagnerWlax) for more photos and information on today's NEC Championship Game Victory.