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Fairfield, CT - The Wagner College women's lacrosse team will travel to top-seeded Sacred Heart on Thursday in the Northeast Conference (NEC) semifinal.

Quarterfinal Recap
Wagner captured a 13-11 quarterfinal win at Le Moyne on Sunday afternoon. The Seahawks outscored the Dolphins 5-2 in the fourth quarter to earn the victory. Senior Kelsey Scheidel and junior Sophia Colver led the Wagner attack with three goals each.
 

MOVING ON! pic.twitter.com/qYVEnLcPJx

— Wagner W Lacrosse (@WagnerWLax) April 28, 2024

Scheidel & Murphy Earn All-NEC Honors
Seniors Kelsey Scheidel and Ryan Murphy picked up First Team All-NEC honors, the conference announced on Tuesday.

Scheidel earned her first-ever All-NEC honor after having a team-high 30 goals, 41 points, 78 shots and 31 ground balls in the regular season. The Islip, NY native earned NEC Prime Performer honors on three separate occasions this season. Scheidel also scored three goals while dishing out one assist in Wagner's 13-11 win over Le Moyne in the NEC quarterfinal on Sunday.
 

Congratulations to Kelsey Scheidel, who earned First Team All-NEC honors! pic.twitter.com/kpohgf5cLC

— Wagner W Lacrosse (@WagnerWLax) April 30, 2024

Scheidel finished the regular season eighth in the NEC with 5.56 shots per game, ninth in the NEC with 2.06 goals per game and10th with 2.81 points per game.

Murphy earns her second-career All-NEC honor after being named to the Rookie Team as a freshman during the 2021 season. Murphy picked up NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 18. Murphy recorded a season-high 11 draw controls against Central Connecticut State on March 16. Murphy also scored her first-career goal in the same game. Murphy finished the season with a team-high 20 caused turnovers and 74 draw controls during the regular season.
 

Congratulations to Ryan Murphy, who earned First Team All-NEC honors! pic.twitter.com/UKbfKKUIDk

— Wagner W Lacrosse (@WagnerWLax) April 30, 2024

Murphy finished the regular season fourth in the NEC with 4.94 draw controls per game and fifth with 1.25 caused turnovers per game. The Syracuse, NY native recorded five draw controls and three caused turnovers in the NEC quarterfinal.

NEC Rankings
Wagner has three players in the top-10 in caused turnovers per game. Ryan Murphy ranks fifth in the NEC with 1.25 per game while graduate student Caitlin McGuire ranks seventh with 1.19 and classmate Casey Haas ranks ninth with 1.13. Wagner ranks second in the NEC with 13.63 draw controls per game.

Wagner In The NEC Tournament
Wagner has appeared in the NEC semifinal for the 10th consecutive season. Wagner will look to capture its fourth overall title and fourth since 2016. Wagner captured the NEC crown in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Wagner has reached the NEC title game in every season since 2014 outside of 2022 as the Green & White fell to eventual champion Mount St. Mary's in the semifinal in 2022.

As the #6 seed, Wagner would become the lowest seed in NEC Tournament history to capture the title. This is the first season the NEC Tournament has expanded to six teams.

Under head coach Kelly McPartland, Wagner is 2-2 in the NEC Tournament and 1-1 in the semifinal. Wagner earned a 10-4 win over LIU in the 2023 semifinal.

About Sacred Heart
The reigning NEC champions enter the NEC Tournament as the regular season champions for the second consecutive year. The Pioneers will look to be the first team to go back-to-back since Mount St. Mary's in 2021 and 2022. Sacred Heart holds the NEC Defensive Player of the Year in Maci Black and NEC the Goalkeeper of the Year in Lisa Martin. 

All-Time Against Sacred Heart
Wagner is 11-14 all-time against Sacred Heart, the Pioneers are currently riding a three-game winning streak against the Seahawks. Wagner is 6-7 all-time at Sacred Heart.

Playoff History Against Sacred Heart
The lone contest between Wagner and Sacred Heart in postseason play came during the 2023 NEC title game. The Pioneers closed the contest on a 4-0 run while scoring the game-winning goal with 15 seconds remaining to earn the 7-6 victory.

About The NEC Tournament
Sacred Heart, LIU, Stonehill and Wagner are the four remaining teams in the tournament. Wagner and Sacred Heart will square off in the first semifinal before Stonehill and LIU face off in the second semifinal. The winner's of the two contests will square off for the NEC crown.

What's Next
The winner of the Wagner-Sacred Heart contest will advance to the NEC title game.