STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner College men's lacrosse team defeated America East member NJIT by a score of 14-12 at Hameline Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Seahawks (2-4, 0-0 NEC) trailed by a score of 9-2 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. Wagner scored its third goal of the contest in the waning moments of the half to make it a six-point game.
Graduate student Theo Kostakos, senior Jake Mitchell, and freshman Dylan Popehn were responsible for Wagner's three goals.
After halftime, the Green & White rattled the first four goals of the third quarter, outscoring the Highlander (3-4, 0-0 America East) 7-1 in total throughout the frame.
At the end of the third, Wagner possessed an 11-10 lead over NJIT.
The Seahawks scored the first two goals of the fourth to lead 13-10 with just under 12 minutes to play. NJIT answered with two goals of its own to make it a 13-12 game with 8:18 to play.
Senior Jake Mitchell capped off his impressive six-goal performance day midway through the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game. In the end, Wagner prevailed by a score of 14-12 to earn its first home win of the season.
Mitchell added one assist to his stat line to lead the Seahawks with seven total points in the afternoon. Freshman Dylan Popehn scored his second straight hat-trick and added one assist to finish his day with four total points.
Senior Smith Callaghan scored twice and dished out two assists for four total points, junior Danny McMahon tallied one goal and one assist while Kostakos and junior Dylan Dwyer both scored one goal each.
Senior midfielder Nico Kross tallied one assist to Popehn at the end of the first half.
Defensively, sophomore Cole Yoshioka caused a team-high four turnovers, junior Ian Muchineuta caused three turnovers and grabbed a team-best four ground balls.
Senior Angus Snow played all 60 minutes in goal for Wagner, recording 13 saves. Snow earned his second consecutive win on the season and third all-time as a Seahawk.
As a team, the Seahawks committed 11 turnovers while forcing 16 Highlander miscues. NJIT put 25 shots on net while Wagner put 27 shots on target.
Next up, Wagner begins NEC play at LIU on Saturday, March 14. The opening face-off between the Seahawks and the Sharks is set for 2 p.m. at Shark Stadium.
