NEC NOTEBOOK FEATURING PAUL DOTTINO

NEC RELEASE

Somerset, NJ – Senior safety Stefen Gage (Syracuse, NY / Henninger) and sophomore kicker David Lopez (Plantation, FL / American Heritage) were cited by the Northeast Conference (NEC) for their outstanding performances in Wagner's thrilling 22-16 double-overtime victory at Georgetown on Saturday. Gage was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week while Lopez earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Gage was all over the field in the non-conference win over Georgetown. In fourth quarter alone, he forced two fumbles and picked off a pass en route to totaling a season-high 11 tackles, including a season-high 3.5 tackles-for-loss, to lead a defensive effort that limited the host Hoyas to 208 yards of offense, including just 64 after halftime. With Wagner down 13-10 in the game's waning minutes, Gage gave his offense one more chance. He dropped Georgetown's quarterback for a loss of three yards on second down before intercepting the pass on the next play, all with fewer than two minutes remaining. Earlier in the period, he forced two fumbles on consecutive plays, the second of which was recovered by Wagner at Hoyas' 40-yard line.

On the year, Gage leads the team with two interceptions and two forced fumbles while pacing all Seahawk defensive backs with 27 tackles, including 4.0 for loss.

Lopez became only the second kicker in NEC history to connect on a field goal of at least 54 yards, and did so with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Wagner's win at Georgetown. He also connected on all three of his field goal attempts, two of which came in high-pressure situations. His 54-yard boot, the longest by a NEC kicker since Piotr Czech's league-record 56-yard triple in 2007, tied the game at 13-13 and forced overtime. Lopez later gave the Seahawks a 16-13 lead with a 24-yarder in the first overtime. His first field goal was a 34-yard kick put the Green & White on the scoreboard with 4:25 left in the third quarter. Lopez also made his lone extra-point attempt to total 10 points. Wagner kickers now hold four of the five longest kicks (Czech 3x, Lopez 1x) in league history (since NEC play began in 1996).

On the year, Lopez is 7-for-9 while bettering his previous long of 44 yards set in the season opener against Assumption. He has also converted all three kicks from 40 yards or longer and is tied for third in the NEC with his seven makes.

The duo is the second and third Seahawks to win a weekly league accolade after Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY / Moore Catholic) earned the league's Offensive Player of the Week citation following his performance against Bryant.

Gage and Lopez were also honored by the College Performance Awards as the Division I FCS National Defensive Performer of the Week and Placekicker of the Week, respectively.

Wagner is next in action on Saturday, October 16 at Saint Francis (PA). Kickoff is slated for 2:00 pm.