Staten Island, NY – Junior attackman
Andrew Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Lenape) matched his career high with four goals and freshman attackmen
Dominic Branda (Ringwood, NJ / Don Bosco Prep) and
Nic Ancona (Warrenton, VA / Paul VI) added two scores apiece, but it wasn't enough as the Wagner men's lacrosse team dropped a 13-11 decision to Sacred Heart in the season finale on Senior Night at Hameline Field.
With the loss, the Seahawks finish the 2017 season with a 6-9 overall record and a Northeast Conference (NEC) mark of 1-5 while the Pioneers improve to 9-5 on the season 4-2 in league play. The six wins recorded by the Green & White match the program record for single-season wins that was set in 2016.
The Pioneers led 6-5 at halftime and scored the first two goals of the second half to make it an 8-5 game before Wagner rallied with a 3-1 run to close the third quarter in again making it a one-goal margin, at 9-8, heading to the fourth.
Sacred Heart opened the final frame on a 4-0 run as the Pioneers built their biggest lead of the game at 13-8 midway through the quarter. The Seahawks then closed the game with three unanswered goals but it was too little, too late as SHU held on for the 13-11 win.
Fifth-year senior midfielder
Paul DeVita (Westfield, NJ / Westfield), senior attackman
Christian McCormick (Royersford, PA / Spring-Ford), and sophomore attackman
John Norton (Catonsville, MD / Mount Saint Joseph) added one goal apiece for the Green & White. In goal, sophomore
Matt Sefcik (Towaco, NJ / Morristown-Beard) came up with 13 saves.
Sacred Heart's top goal-scorer was Joe Saggese, who found the net four times to match Streilein for game-high honors, while Joe Tuttle finished with a game-high six points on three goals and three assists.
SHU's starting goalie Brooks Dutton left the game due to injury just 6:22 into the contest. Sophomore goalie Greg Price, a member of the 2016 NEC All-Rookie team, was then pressed into action. The Yardley, PA native came up big for the Pioneers, recording 13 saves the rest of the way, including several of the pin-point variety, in notching the win.
Statistically, Sacred Heart held a commanding 22-of-28 edge in faceoffs, led by Mike Calvagna's sparking 17-of-21 effort in the X, while Jake Giaquinto won 5-of-7. SHU held a 39-37 advantage in shots and also led in groundballs by a count of 39-26. The Seahawks were 2-of-4 on extra-man opportunities while the Pioneers were 0-of-1.
Prior to the game, Wagner's eight seniors were honored in a pre-game ceremony, along with four graduate students who also played their final games on Grymes Hill this evening.
The Eight Seniors Honored Included:
Evan Clark / Defense / 6-0 / 180 / Vaughan, Ontario / The Hill Academy
Tyler Cropley / Defense / 6-1 / 195 / Hillsborough, NJ / Hillsborough
David Hwang / Goalie / 5-8 / 155 / Hauppauge, NY / Hauppauge
Anthony Labetti / Midfield / 5-9 / 185 / Moorestown, NJ / Moorestown
Christian McCormick / Midfield / 5-10 / 185 / Royersford, PA / Spring-Ford
Andrew Tirelli / Midfield / 5-11 / 185 / East Setauket, NY / Ward Melville
Noah Wolthausen / Midfield / 5-9 / 185 / Las Vegas, NV / Palo Verde
Ryan Zurawski / Attack / 5-10 / 195 / Medford, NJ / St. Augustine Prep
The Four Graduate Students also Recognized Included:
Paul DeVita / Midfield / 5-11 / 190 / Westfield, NJ / Westfield
William McMenamin / Midfield / 5-5 / 155 / Longport, NJ / St. Augustine Prep
Patrick McMenamin / Attack / 5-6 / 160 / Longport, NJ / St. Augustine Prep
Daniel Valencia / Defense / 6-2 / 200 / Gaithersburg, MD / Gaithersburg
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