Staten Island, N.Y. – Senior attack Kelly Blundin (Plymouth Meeting, PA/ Plymouth Whitemarsh) erupted for six goals and one assist, senior midfielder Cara Gonzalez (Syracuse, NY/ Westhill) added four tallies and one assist while junior attack Janine Bright (Commack, NY/ Commack) produced three goals and five assists to lead Wagner past Long Island University 22-16 in Northeast Conference play.

In its first season under head coach Cristina Curiale, Wagner surpassed last season's total win total of three in improving to 4-8 overall, 3-2 in the NEC. The Blackbirds fall to 3-9 on the season, 2-5 in conference play.

A quartet of Blackbirds scored hat tricks, led by freshman Ashley Prizio who led the way with four goals.

LIU opened the scoring with a goal from Claire Ranney, but Wagner quickly responded with three unanswered goals by freshman midfielders Carolyn Clark (Syracuse, NY/ Westhill) and Melanie Garces (San Diego, CA/ Westview), with the third goal coming from Gonzalez on a free position shot. The Blackbirds rallied to tie the score at 3-3 on back-to-back markers by Annie Kalata and Allison Funk at the 23:27 mark.

Wagner built a 7-4 lead on goals by Blundin, senior attack Jessica Richmond (Jenkintown, PA/ Jenkintown), Bright, and freshman attack Lauren Petrik (Syracuse, NY/ Baldwinsville) with a goal from Prizio interrupting the four-goal Wagner surge.

LIU eventually tied the game with a three-goal run as Jenna Schauder Jillian Maricondo and Ranney each converted chances to knot the score at 7-7. The teams alternated the next four goals to make it 9-9 as Blundin and Clark found the net for Wagner while Kalata and Funk finished opportunities for LIU.

Two goals by Gonzalez and one from sophomore attack Karen Vitkus (Skaneateles, NY/ Skaneateles) helped give Wagner a 12-10 halftime lead.

A goal by LIU's Prizio with 28:13 to play cut the LIU deficit to 13-11, but that was as close as the Blackbirds would get the rest of the way. Blundin scored two goals during a 5-2 Wagner burst to open the second half which pushed the lead to 17-12 and the Blackbirds never got closer than four goals the rest of the way.

Clark finished with a hat trick for Wager while Garces and junior midfielder Teri Noll (Jordan, NY/ Jordan-Elbridge Central) added three assists apiece. Garces also added five draw controls for the Seahawks. Junior Alex Johnston (Manlius, NY/ Fayetteville-Manlius) had seven saves in goal for the Seahawks. Amber Meek made 15 saves for the Blackbirds.

Wagner held a healthy 45-28 edge in shots and led in ground balls by a 19-10 count, while draw controls were even at 20-20. LIU was 4-of-6 on free position shots while Wagner was 2-of-5. The 22 goals were a season-high for the Seahawks, and also the most goals scored in a game since defeating Saint Francis (PA) 22-0 on March 20, 2008.

Senior Day on Tap: On Saturday, the Seahawks will celebrate Senior Day in a ceremony prior to their noon match-up with Mount St. Mary's. The five seniors to be honored are Kelly Blundin, Cara Gonzalez, Lindsay Hashmall, Amy Jones and Jessica Richmond.

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Staten Island, N.Y. - The Long Island University women's lacrosse squad was outlasted by Wagner, 22-16, on Friday afternoon at Wagner Stadium in a Northeast Conference contest. A quartet of Blackbirds scored hat tricks, led by freshman Ashley Prizio who led the way with four goals.

LIU (3-10, 2-5 NEC) opened the scoring with a goal from freshman Claire Ranney, but Wagner quickly responded with three consecutive goals. The Blackbirds rallied to tie the score on back-to-back markers by sophomore Annie Kalata and senior Allison Funk at the 23:27 mark.

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2009-04-09