New Britain, CT – The Wagner College women's lacrosse put on a dominating performance Saturday, March 6, knocking off the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) Blue Devils 15-3 at Arute Field in the 2021 Northeast Conference (NEC) opener.

Junior Kasey Dorney set a career-high with six goals and senior Victoria Tucci set a career-high of her own with six assists; the Tucci-to-Dorney connection was directly responsible for four of those goals.

Senior Erin Kerstetter notched a hat trick, adding two assists, two draw controls and a caused turnover. Graduate student Megan Drum registered a hat trick of her own, adding an assist and four draw controls. Junior Maria Henwood added a pair of goals and sophomore Lindsay MacLachlan rounded out the Seahawk scorers with a goal and an assist.

The Seahawks were just as dominant defensively, directly causing 14 of CCSU's 22 turnovers, and holding the Blue Devils to just nine shots on goal. Junior Aileen Hannan and graduate student Giaci Vitolo caused a combined five turnovers and scooped three ground balls between them. Junior Lauren DiStefano added six saves in goal.

How it Happened:
Dorney notched her first two goals before the Blue Devils managed a single shot on goal; she completed the hat trick less than five minutes into the opening half. After assisting on Dorney's second goal, Drum notched her first goal of the year to push Wagner's lead to 4-0 at the 24:10 mark.

Kerstetter and Henwood followed Dorney's fourth of the day with goals of their own, forcing Central Connecticut to call timeout with 13:55 left in the half. The timeout did little to slow the Seahawks, as Kerstetter and Drum each added their second of the day about a minute apart. MacLachlan pushed the lead out to 10-0 with her first collegiate goal just 45 seconds after Drum's.

With the running clock in effect, the score held there for nearly eight minutes until Dorney netted her fifth of the half with 3:07 on the clock, the final goal of the half for either side.

The Blue Devils struck first in the second half to end the shutout, but Dorney answered with her final goal of the day, pushing the margin back up to 11.

Kerstetter and Drum sandwiched their hat trick-completing goals around Henwood's second, opening a 15-1 lead with just over 10 minutes left on the clock. The Blue Devils added a pair of goals late for the final margin.

Beyond The Numbers:
The 11-0 halftime advantage marked the first time in 23 games that Wagner shut out an opponent in any half, dating back to March 10, 2019 against UMass-Lowell. That UMass-Lowell match-up was also the last time the Seahawks allowed three goals or fewer in a single game.

Next Up For Wagner:
The Seahawks return to Grymes Hill for their first home game in exactly one year when they host the Long Island University (LIU) Sharks at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday March 10.

Follow us: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Athletics:       
Women's Lacrosse: