Pictured Above: Kirsten Monte, one of the Seahawks' nine-member senior class that combined to win a program-record 47 games and three NEC Championships
(Photo Shelley Szwast)
Box Score
Princeton, NJ – Wagner's record-setting run came to an end with a 19-7 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship first-round loss at eighth-ranked Ivy League champion Princeton on Friday night at Sherrerd Field.
Under the direction of first-year head coach
Michelle Tumolo, the Seahawks registered a program-best 16-4 record, its second consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) championship, and second straight NCAA opening-round win, as Wagner earned the right to play Princeton by virtue of its 15-13 comeback win at Fairfield on Tuesday.
Princeton, in winning its 10th straight game while halting Wagner's seven-game winning streak, now advances to the second where the Tigers will host Loyola, who defeated Richmond 19-6 in Friday's first game. The winner of the Princeton-Loyola matchup advances to next weekend's quarterfinals.
The Tigers showed why they are a top-10 team and the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament by jumping out to leads of 7-1 and 10-2 en route to taking a 14-4 halftime advantage.
After Princeton opened the second half with a Tess D'Orsi goal to make it a 15-4 game, the Seahawks responded with consecutive goals with a 32-second span with NEC Midfielder of the Year
Erin Kerstetter playing a hand in both scores, assisting on a goal by freshman attacker
Maria Henwood with 19:36 left play, before blasting home a score of her own at the 19:04 mark.
This 15-6 deficit was as close as Wagner would get, however, as the Tigers tallied four of the game's final five goals en route to the victory.
The Seahawks had a trio of sophomores notch two points apiece in first-team All-NEC midfielder
Madeline Seims (2g), attacker
Stefani Peluso and Kerstetter (1g, 1a), the latter of whom gobbled up seven draw controls in extending her single-season DC record to 124. For Seims, her two scores ran her single-season goal record to 64, while her 66 points rank fifth on the Wagner all-time single-season list.
The fourth Seahawk to register two points tonight was second-team All-NEC junior attacker
Stephanie Falcone (1g, 1a).
In goal, second-team All-NEC redshirt senior
Kelsey Fee came up with 15 saves vs. the explosive Tigers who were led by D'Orsi's eight-point game (7g, 1a), Kathryn Hallett added a hat trick while, defensively, goalie Sam Fish was credited with nine saves.
One of the most storied women's lacrosse programs in the nation, Princeton is making its 27th NCAA tournament appearance, including seven straight. The Tigers have won three NCAA championships (1994, 2002, 2003) and reached 11 Final Fours, including seven championship games.
