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Smithfield, RI -- It was a dogfight for sure, but for the second straight year Bryant emerged as the “Top Dog.”
 
The top-seeded Bulldogs rallied to win their second straight NEC Women’s Lacrosse championship, defeating second seeded Wagner, 15-10, behind a herculean seven-goal effort by NEC Tournament MVP Shannon Burns (Mount Sinai, NY/Mount Sinai).
 
In the highly anticipated title rematch, Bryant held Wagner scoreless for a 20:45 stretch in the second half, scoring seven straight goals in the process to turn a 9-7 deficit into a 15-9 lead late in the contest.
 
The seven goals for Burns were the second most in a game in NEC Tournament history.  Along with Burns, Emily Columbus (East Northport, NY/Northport Senior) recorded a hat trick for Bryant and NEC Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge) added two goals after scoring six in Friday’s semis.
 
Wagner was led by NEC Midfielder of the Year Shea Gegan (Manasquan, NY/Manasquan) and Kimmy Tumolo (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview), who each finished with two goals and an assist for the Seahawks.
 
Unlike last year when Wagner got off to a slow start against Bryant, the Seahawks began the game with a scoring flurry.
 
The Seahawks drew first blood on a beautiful spin move by freshman Lauren Ednie (Verona, NJ/Verona) just 2:21 into the contest. Less than a minute later, the Seahawks’ Jessica Roberts (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) made it 2-0.  It took just 34 seconds after that for Gegan to find sophomore Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) for the point blank shot that gave Wagner a 3-0 edge.
 
Bryant briefly stopped the momentum on a Burns shot at the 25:12 mark, but Roberts tallied again for Wagner five minutes later to regain a three-goal edge.
 
A terrific solo effort by Columbus, an All-NEC first team attacker, pulled the Bulldogs to within 4-2.
 
Following a 10+ minute scoreless stretch, it was Tumolo who found the back of the net to put the Seahawks up 5-2 with 8:36 left on the first half clock.
 
Bryant cut into the lead in the last five minutes of the first half on a goal by junior Morgan LaBarbera (New Faifield, CT/New Fairfield) and an FPS by Burns, but Gegan had the answer for Wagner, scoring her first of the game with 17 seconds to play to give the Seahawks a 6-4 advantage at intermission.
 
Wagner took just 1:47 in the second stanza to extend the lead to 7-4 as Tumolo set up Streilein with a gorgeous feed.
 
Burns completed her hat trick less than a minute later to keep Bryant within striking distance, but Gegan’s FPS restored Wagner’s three-goal lead at the 26:36 mark.
 
The goals were coming fast and furious at this point as Columbus raced downfield and scored to pull Bryant to within 8-6.  When Burns notched her fourth of the game on a free position shot , the Bulldogs were within 8-7 with 25:13 to play.
 
Tumolo quickly converted her own FPS to push the Wagner lead to 9-7.
 
From this point the momentum swung solidly in Bryant’s favor.
 
It all started when Bryant junior Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, NJ/Shore Regional) set up senior Skylar Zlotnick (Essex Falls, NJ/Montclair Kimberley Academy) with a terrific feed to pull the Bulldogs to within 9-8. Burns scored her fifth less than a minute later to tie the game at 9-9 with 20:50 to play.  It took just 28 seconds after that for Burns to tally her sixth on an FPS to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the afternoon.
 
The scoring spree continued for Bryant with 19:06 remaining as Descalzo, who had been quiet, recorded her first goal of the day to up the Bulldog lead to 11-9. When Descalzo converted a FPS with 12:28 to play, the Bulldog faithful could sense a second title was there for the taking.
 
Britton scored the seventh consecutive goal for Bryant on a FPS with 8:09 to play to extend the Bulldog lead to five and the third goal of the day for Columbus with 7:07 on the clock put the game out of reach.
 
Wagner’s April Simmons (Branford, CT/Branford) snapped a 20+ minute drought for the Seahawks, ending the day’s scoring with 3:55 to play.

Bryant goalkeeper Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, NY/Gen. Douglas MacArthur) finished with five saves, while her counterpart Katie Ferraro (Owings Mills, MD/McDonogh) stopped six shots for Wagner.
 
Bryant will now find out its NCAA Tournament opponent tonight on the NCAA Selection Show at 9:00 pm.
 
NEC All-Tournament Team
Shannon Burns (BRY) – MVP
Nicole Britton (BRY)
Emily Columbus (BRY)
Lauren Descalzo (BRY)
Gretchen Fay (WC)
Katie Ferraro (WC)
Jessica Mills (WC)
Megan Sardella (WC)
Melissa Cox (MSM)
Marley Heller (MSM)
Megan Wolfgang (RMU)
Kristin Yoviene (RMU)