NEC RELEASE

Somerset, NJ - Junior midfielder Shea Gegan (Belmar, NJ/Mansquan), the nation's leader in both caused turnovers and ground balls per game, has claimed her third straight Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Week honor and fourth of the season, the league office announced today.

In addition to her four weekly NEC honors, Gegan was tabbed the Corvias ECAC Division I Metro/Upstate Defensive Player of the Week for the week of April 15.

On Sunday, the Seahawks overcame a 6-3 second-half deficit when sophomore attack Olivia Streilein (Mt.Laurel, NJ/Lenape) sank a five-yard blast 23 seconds into the second overtime session in lifting the Green & White to thrilling 9-8 comeback win over Sacred Heart.

The win over the Pioneers was the Seahawks' sixth straight overall, as Wagner is now 5-0 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) for the first time in program history. After dropping four consecutive games by one-goal margins earlier this season, the surging Seahawks now have an overall record of 8-7.

For the week, the Green & White were 2-0, having knocked off LIU Brooklyn by a 19-10 count on Friday, followed by Sunday's victory over Sacred Heart. In the win over LIU Brooklyn, Gegan poured in five goals and assisted on two others while also contributing five ground balls, five caused turnovers and five draw controls. Two days later, the 5-10 Gegan played a major role in the double-OT win over Sacred Heart. While uncharacteristically not finding the scoring column against the Pioneers, Gegan still managed to impact the game, coming up with a game-high seven caused turnovers, along with sharing game-high honors with six ground balls, while adding three draw controls.
 
In the two games, the 2014 NEC Defensive Player of the Week, tallied five goals and two assists, to go along with 12 caused turnovers, 11 ground balls and eight draw controls.
 
Gegan's 67 ground balls this season is tied for the school single-season record with Natosha Davis (2000), and eclipses the 61 she collected in 2014 which is now third all-time. The multi-skilled Gegan holds the top three spots on Wagner's all-time single-season caused turnovers list. The 65 CT's she forced in 2014 is currently No.1, followed by the 61 she has so far this season. Her 42 CT's set in 2013 as a freshman now rank third all-time. Added together, Gegan's school-record career total is now up to 167 CT's.
 
Through 15 games this season, Gegan is the Seahawk team leader in goals (33), assists (22), points (55), ground balls (67) and caused turnovers (61), while ranking second on the team with 35 draw controls, two behind sophomore defender Amanda Rey (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township), who has 37.
 
Sunday's victory over SHU sets up a showdown at Bryant on Friday, April 24. When the Seahawks and Bulldogs square off in this 4:00 p.m. clash, both teams will be sitting atop the NEC standings with identical 5-0 league records, as Bryant defated Saint Francis U 17-10 today to remain unblemished in league play, while improving to 11-3 overall.
 
If Wagner defeats Bryant on Friday, the Seahawks will win the league's regular season title and host the 2015 NEC Championships, with the semifinals on Friday, May 1 and  the championship game set for Sunday, May 3.

A season ago, No. 1-seed Bryant defeated No. 2 Wagner 14-6 on its home turf in the 2014 NEC Championship game, which marked the Seahawks' first-ever appearance in the league title game.
 
In her two seasons at the helm of the Seahawk program, head coach Liz Frisoli has now led the Seahawks to 11 straight NEC wins and a sparkling 11-1 (.917) record in league play - a 6-1 mark last season, followed by this year's 5-0 league start. Wagner's lone conference loss in the last two seasons came in the 2014 NEC opener, a 7-6 double-overtime home defeat to Bryant, which has been followed by 11 consecutive league wins.
 
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