Photo by David Sinclair
Emmitsburg, MD – In the lowest scoring final in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's lacrosse history, second-seeded Wagner combined stingy defense with balanced scoring to claim the program's second straight title, as the Seahawks defeated top-seeded Mount St. Mary's 7-6 in a tightly-contested battle on Saturday afternoon at Waldron Family Stadium.
Redshirt senior goalie
Kelsey Fee, who was named Tournament MVP, recorded 11 saves, with the final one coming on a free position shot with less than one second to play, which set off a raucous Seahawk celebration.
Wagner will find out its NCAA opponent during Sunday's selection show, set to stream live at 8 pm on NCAA.com.
Today's hard-fought victory avenged the Seahawks' lone NEC loss this season and came over a Mount St. Mary's team that entered the game with a 16-2 overall record and riding a 13-game winning streak. The eighth win in that streak was an 11-9 decision over Wagner in April 13. But today was another story.
With the victory, the Seahawks improve to 15-3 overall, setting a program record for most wins in a single season. Including the NEC Tournament, Wagner finished the season 8-1 against league opponents, with those eight wins also setting a new program mark.
In addition to earning back-to-back NEC titles, the Seahawks, who will enter he NCAA Tournament on a six-game winning streak, have now won three of the last four league championships as the Green & White took home their first conference crown in 2016. Wagner has now played in six consecutive NEC championship games, with the previous five coming vs. Bryant on the road, and the Seahawks are 3-3 in these title bouts.
In today's rematch vs. the Mount, it did not take long for Wagner to strike first as sophomore midfielder
Victoria Tucci forced her way to the front of the net and fired a low shot to give the Seahawks a 1-0 lead just 2:13 into the contest.
The Mountaineers would draw even when the NEC Rookie of the Year Jordan Groover converted on a free position shot at the 22:52 mark to tie the game 1-1.
Wagner looked to regain the lead with 20:29 left in the first half, but All-NEC First-Team goalkeeper Jillian Petito made a point-blank save against senior attacker
Megan Drum, keeping the score tied.
The Mount's NEC Offensive Player of the Year Jordan Butler scored her first goal of the game at 17:55 when she shook her defender and found the top corner, giving the Mountaineers a 2-1 edge heading into the first media timeout.
Three minutes later, Emily Davis converted on a free position shot in extending the Mountaineers lead to 3-1.
Both squads would then trade goals, scoring just 30 seconds apart, including a tally from sophomore
Madeline Seims, who netted her 60th goal of the season, becoming the all-time single season goal scorer in Wagner history.
With Mount up 4-2, the Seahawks closed out the first half on a 3-0 run, receiving goals from Drum, NEC Midfielder of the Year, sophomore midfielder
Erin Kerstetter, and junior attacker
Stephanie Falcone. After both squads had each scored at least seven goals in the first halves of their semifinal contests, the two teams combined for just nine goals in the first half, with Wagner holding a 5-4 edge at the break,
Neither team would find the back of the net until the 15:11 mark of the second half, when after a Mount timeout, Groover was awarded a free position chance and found Alayna Pagnotta in front of the net to tie the game up 5-5.
The Seahawks regained the lead 3:07 later as Kerstetter drove to the front of the net for her second goal of the contest. Another goal from Seims with 5:33 to play in regulation extended the Wagner lead to 7-5.
With just 2:03 remaining, the Mountaineers converted on a loose ball in front of the Wagner goal as Beanie Colson put a rebound into the back of the net to pull the Mount within one.
The Mount had one last free position attempt with 0.6 seconds left on the clock, but Fee denied Davis at the horn to preserve the win.
Seims and Kerstetter paced Wagner offensively with two goals apiece while Drum, Tucci, and Falcone added one each. Kerstetter's game-high six draw controls increases her program single-season record to 114.
Wagner outshot Mount St. Mary's 34-21 and held a 20-12 advantage in ground balls.
2019 NEC All-Tournament Team
Kelsey Fee, WC (Tournament MVP)
Maddie Courtney, WC
Erin Kerstetter, WC
Madeline Seims, WC
Emily Davis, MSM
Jillian Petito, MSM
Kaitlyn Ridenour, MSM
Lauren Britton, BRY
Emily Diaz, BRY
Maddie Burke, RMU
Mackenzie Gandy, RMU
