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Smithfield, RI -- In the fourth installment of NEC women's lacrosse's foremost rivalry, the Bulldogs had plenty of bite.

Bryant came back from an early deficit to dethrone defending champion Wagner, 16-7, and claim the program's third NEC title in four years, all under current head coach Jill Batcheller. This is also the third time Bryant's men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have won NEC Championships in the same seasonb.

Including the NEC Tournament, Bryant (13-4) finished the season a perfect 9-0 against league rivals and are riding a nine-game winning streak. The Bulldogs also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the third time.

It didn’t take long for Wagner (7-12) to jump out to a 3-0 lead. NEC First Team selection Anna Belle Reilly (Paradise Valley, AZ/Notre Dame Prep) kicked things off with a tally just 1:13 into the game. The Seahawks took less than three minutes to tack on two more goals, and then continued to press All-NEC first team keeper Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, NY/Gen Douglas MacArthur), who responded with several big saves.

But the Bulldog offense was not daunted, reeling off five unanswered goals to take a 5-3 lead. NEC Offensive Player of the Year Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, NY/Mount Sinai) put the Bulldogs on the board at the 21:33 minute mark with her 100th career point on a free position shot. With 14:20 left of the first half, Bryant knotted the score at three on Shannon Sullivan's (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) unassisted tally. Catlin Brown (San Diego, CA/Bishops School) gave Bryant the lead at the 12:21 mark on a man-up goal and Ali Cardinal (Schnectady, NY/Guilderland Central) capped the outburst less than a minute later. The Bulldogs held Wagner scoreless over 15 minutes as Bryant built a lead it would not relinquish,

Reilly broke the Bryant scoring streak by posting her second of the game with 10:52 left in the half to bring Wagner within one. But Bryant scored twice more to take a three-goal advantage.

A late goal from freshman standout Caitlin Breglia (Long Beach, NH/Long Beach), her second of the game, gave Bryant an 8-5 lead heading into halftime.

Cardinal netted her second of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, extending Bryant’s lead to 9-5.

The Bulldogs kept Wagner scoreless for the first 12:57 of the second half in building the lead to 11-5 on a pair of Emily Columbus (East Northport, NY/Northport Senior) tallies.

Bryant put the game out of reach with a series of hat tricks, as Breglia, DeMeo and Columbus all completed theirs within five minutes. With just 7:48 remaining, the Bulldogs were ahead 15-6.

Both Breglia and DeMeo finished with five points. Breglia scored a game-high four goals, while Columbus, Brown and DeMeo each had three tallies.

Wagner’s Olivia Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) also posted a hat trick. Kelsey Fee (White Plains, NY/White Plains) made 18 saves between the pipes for the Green & White.

Bryant converted six free position shots on the afternoon and owned a 36-25 shot advantage.

Santeramo was named the Tournament MVP after finishing with 17 saves and limiting the Seahawks to seven goals. She became the third Bryant player to earn the honor. Santeramo was also named to the NEC All-Tournament team along with DeMeo, Sullivan and NEC Defender of the Year Molly Martin (Island Park, NY/Long Beach). DeMeo scored eight goals and 11 points during the tournament, while Santeramo accrued 26 saves.

2017 NEC All-Tournament Team
Caitlin Delaney, M, Sacred Heart
Lianaa Doyle, M, Sacred Heart
Katelyn Miller, GK, Robert Morris
Annie Sachs, M,  Robert Norris
Margaret Jent, D, Wagner
Amanda Rey, M, Wagner
Heidi Colford, A, Wagner
Samantha Santeramo, GK, Bryant
Jess DeMeo, A, Bryant
Shannon Sullivan, M, Bryant
Molly Martin, D, Bryant

Tournament MVP
Samantha Santeramo, Bryant