Pictured Above: Junior Heidi Colford (photo: Kostas Lymperopoulos)

Staten Island, NY – The defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Wagner women's lacrosse team opened up its league schedule with a tightly contested 10-9 loss against Saint Francis U on Friday afternoon at Hameline Field.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 2-9 on the season and 0-1 in league play, while the Red Flash improve to 6-4 on the year, 1-0 in the NEC.

Junior attack Heidi Colford (Eden Prairie, MN / Eden Prairie) led the way with four points on two goals and two assists, while sophomore Anna Belle Reilly (Paradise Valley, AZ / Notre Dame Prep) added three points on two goals and one assist.  

The Seahawks used a pregame penalty on the visitors to get off to a fast start, as Colford took an April Simmons (Branford, CT / Brandford) feed to give Wagner an early 1-0 lead. Reilly then doubled the Wagner lead five minutes into the contest, converting the assist from senior Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Lenape).

The Red Flash answered with a 4-0 run over the next 20 minutes, before the Green and White closed out the opening period on a 3-0 run of its own. Junior Lauren Ednie (Verona, NJ / Verona) and sophomore Marjorie Dehm (Baldwinsville, NY / C.W. Baker / University of Vermont) scored back-to-back goals within two minutes to tie the game at 4-4, before Reilly's second goal of the contest with just four seconds left on the clock gave the Seahawks the 5-4 lead heading into halftime.

After Dehm opened the second period with her second tally of the contest, the Red Flash answered with five unanswered goals within a six-minute stretch in opening up a 9-6 lead. Senior Amanda Rey (Turnersville, NJ / Washington Township) ended the run with an unassisted score to cut the deficit to two before the Red Flash extended the lead back to three on a Holly Lawrence goal with just under 10 minutes remaining.

The Seahawk late rally got started with eight minutes to play, as Colford converted on her second goal of the afternoon, while Ednie pulled Wagner to within one four minutes later. Head coach Katie Rowan's team had multiple opportunities late to tie the score in a dramatic finish, but was unable to pull even in the end.

Lawrence led the Red Flash with three goals, while Heather McKee in goal saved 10 shots. Wagner outshot Saint Francis 29-23 and led shots on goal 19-17. The Seahawks also edged the Red Flash 12-8 in draw controls and 26-21 in ground balls. Saint Francis committed 20 turnovers to 16 for Wagner.

For the Seahawks, junior Lucy Darlington (Timonium, MD / Notre Dame Preparatory) suffered the loss after making six saves.

Wagner returns to Hameline Field on Sunday in its second straight NEC matchup when the Seahawks welcome the Robert Morris Colonials for a noon faceoff.

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