Fairfield, CT – The Wagner men's lacrosse team reeled off a remarkable second half comeback Wednesday evening from Campus Field, knocking off Sacred Heart, 11-9, for their first win of the season.
Down four goals at the half, the Seahawks outscored the Pioneers 8-2 in the second half. Junior
Stephen Dwyer matched his career-high with four goals, adding two assists, graduate student
Tim Schmidt matched his own career-high with two goals, and junior
Jack Brady doubled his career scoring total entering the game with a pair of goals.
Elsewhere for the Seahawks, graduate student
Philip Buque notched his team-leading 17
th goal of the season, freshman
Nick Martini scored his second of the season, and sophomore defender
Nick Azzopardi scored his first collegiate goal.
In net, sophomore
Danny Brady notched 20 saves for the third time this season, posting a career-best .690 save percentage, keeping Wagner in the game, then in the lead, despite a final 29-18 advantage for the Pioneers in shots on goal.
For Sacred Heart, Logan Liljeberg had two goals and a team-best four points, Sal Miccio finished with a hat trick, and Peter Callahan finished with seven saves in net and a goal scored of his own.
How it Happened:
The Seahawks trailed 4-1 through the first quarter, and 5-1 early in the second before Dwyer scored back-to-back goals to halve the deficit.
Miccio responded with his hat trick-completing goal before Callahan, playing well out of his cage, found the back of the net from beyond midfield, putting Sacred Heart up 7-3 at the half.
After (Jack) Brady pulled Wagner within three less than a minute into the second half, Dwyer completed his hat trick with a man-up goal at the 10:13 mark. Nearly six scoreless minutes followed, but Azzopardi ended the drought with a highlight reel goal.
Liljeberg gave Sacred Heart a two-goal cushion back about a minute later, but Dwyer closed the quarter with his fourth of the day.
Early in the fourth, Dwyer first found Schmidt to tie the game, then Martini to give Wagner its first lead of the game.
Schmidt and Brady later tacked on their respective seconds, opening a three-goal advantage.
Liljeberg added another goal with just over four minutes to play, but Sacred Heart would draw no closer as Brady saved each of the Pioneers two shots on goal down the stretch.
Up Next:
The Seahawks return home for Senior Day next Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. against the Hobart Statesmen.
Prior to the game, the team will recognize its seniors/graduate students for their contributions to the program and the college over the past several years.
