Bulldogs take on Seahawks to end weekend road trip, Sunday at 1 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's lacrosse team will look to make it six-straight wins and remain perfect on the road when it battles Wagner College on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in a rematch of last season's Northeast Conference Championship.  

The Bulldogs (7-3, 1-0 NEC) hold a 7-3 record over the Seahawks (3-7, 1-0), and have won six-straight meetings. But Wagner has been Bryant's biggest rival over the last two seasons, as both schools have met in the last two conference championship games. The top-seeded Bulldogs defeated the two-seeded Seahawks in both of those meetings by a combined score of 29-16.

Wagner currently sits tied for first in the league after a 15-4 victory over Central Connecticut State University on Friday. This is also not the same Wagner side, statistically, that has made NEC tournament runs in each of the last two seasons, as it ranks sixth in the league in scoring offense (8.89), points per game (12.00) and assists per game (3.11).

Regardless of the numbers, Wagner has many familiar veterans that have had success against the Bulldogs in their careers. Senior midfielder Shea Gegan paces the Seahawks with 35 points on 22 goals and 13 assists this season. She also leads the team with 31 caused turnovers and ranks second in the conference in caused turnovers per game at 2.11 (16th nationally). Gegan has tallied three goals and one helper against Bryant. Senior attack Kimmy Tumulo (19 points on 15g, 2a) has registered eight scores and two assists against the Bulldogs in her five matchups. Junior attack Olivia Streilein has netted five goals against Bryant in her career, and she sits third on this year's squad with 13 points (8g, 5a). Senior mid Gretchen Fay (10g, 2a) has netted three scores to go along with a helper against the Black and Gold, and senior attacks Stephanie Peterson (9g, 2a) and Taylor Pastore (8g, 2a) have charted six goals and an assist and three scores and three helpers, respectively, against Bryant.

As experienced and familiar the Wagner offense is with Bryant, the opposite can be said about Sunday's visitors. Only two Bulldogs that will be suiting up for this matchup have tallied points against the Seahawks in their careers. Senior attack Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) has registered 10 points on two goals and eight assists against Wagner in five career meetings. Sophomore mid Meaghan Brennan (Glen Head, N.Y.) tallied an assist in Bryant's 15-10 victory over the Seahawks in last year's NEC title game.   

Sophomore keeper Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) will get a third look at a lot of Wagner's offensive threats come Sunday. Santeramo started both games against tomorrow's hosts in 2015, making 13 stops while allowing 14 goals in a pair of wins. The Bulldogs now boast the top-scoring defense in the league at 10.22 goals allowed per outing.

The Seahawks and their senior goalie Katie Ferraro will try to defend against new threats in the Bryant attack. Ferraro is 0-4 lifetime against the Bulldogs, securing 35 saves in those contests, as she tallies 6.14 saves per game this year and a 10.47 goals-against average to rank third and second in the NEC, respectively.

Freshman mid Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) has asserted herself as a force to be reckoned with, as she has caged 10 goals over the last two games, including six in Bryant's 17-7 win at Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Sophomore attack Catlin Brown (San Diego, Calif.) registered a pair of goals and three assists in Friday's victory over the Mountaineers, and she now sits third on the team with 20 points this season. Junior defender Shannon Sullivan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) had a career day against the Mount with four goals and one helper, and freshman midfielders Jasmine Perkins (West Babylon, N.Y.) and Emma Ahlrichs (Zionsville, Ind.) have each tallied points the last two games.      

Sunday's first draw is set for 1:00 p.m. and it can be viewed live on NECFrontRow.com or followed along via livestats on WagenrAthletics.com.