Staten Island, NY -- After coming up just short in three consecutive NEC field hockey championship games, Wagner entered Saturday's final with redemption on its mind.
This time, the top-seeded Seahawks made sure the opportunity didn't slip away.
Playing on their home turf, the undefeated regular season champions captured their first NEC Field Hockey Championship in dramatic fashion, rallying for a 3-2 overtime victory over third-seeded Sacred Heart.
It took just 12 seconds of extra time for Wagner to complete its breakthrough.
Senior forward Victoria Bruno (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany Hills) collected a loose ball in the shooting circle off a play from fellow senior Floortje Leunisse (Breda, the Netherlands/Onze Lieve Vrouwe Lyceum) and rifled a shot into the left corner of the cage, setting off a celebration in front of a raucous home crowd at the Wagner Field Hockey Complex.
Sacred Heart struck first late in the opening quarter. Working off a set piece, NEC Midfielder of the Year Celia Benson (Scituate, MA/Thayer Academy) found first-year midfielder Joey Pompeo (Gorham, ME/Cheverus) in front of the cage to give the Pioneers an early advantage.
Wagner answered midway through the second quarter after earning a penalty corner. NEC Defensive Player of the Year Julia de Leeuw (Houten, the Netherlands/College de Heemlanden) worked the ball to the right side of the shooting circle and sent it toward the left post, where Victoria Gonzalez-Lopez (Santiago, Chile/Grace College) knocked it home to even the score.
The teams remained deadlocked through the third quarter before trading penalty stroke goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Sacred Heart regained the lead with approximately nine and a half minutes remaining when junior Hailey Vogt (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) converted a penalty stroke.
But Wagner had one more answer.
With 4:09 left in regulation, de Leeuw buried a penalty stroke of her own to pull the Seahawks even at 2-2 and set the stage for Bruno's overtime heroics.
De Leeuw, who was named NEC Tournament MVP, totaled two goals and two assists over Wagner's two tournament victories, helping lead the Seahawks to the program's historic first conference crown.
With the victory, Wagner punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
The Seahawks will learn their NCAA Tournament opponent during the selection show on Sunday, November 8 at 10:00 p.m. ET, streamed live on NCAA.com.
2026 NEC FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP | FINAL (OT)
Sacred Heart Pioneers
2
Wagner Seahawks
3
Scoring Summary
13:55
1-0
24:29
1-1
50:33
2-1
55:51
2-2
60:12
2-3