STATEN ISLAND, NY – Monmouth University outscored Wagner 6-0 in the second half, holding the Seahawks scoreless over the final 30:45 of action to rally for an 8-4 non-conference victory on Tuesday afternoon at Hameline Field, as sophomore Bryce Wasserman (Southlake, TX/Grapevine Faith) registered three goals and an assist and junior Nick Hreshko (Warrington, PA/La Salle College HS) made 11 saves for his second career win.
"We made a few too many mistakes in the first half and combined with bad breaks and tough weather, we were playing from behind at the half," stated head coach Brian Fisher. "Our captains, along with Zack [Schleicher], Dylan [Schulte] and several other juniors were great at halftime and really got us going. They were instrumental in keeping everyone calm while at the same time delivering a powerful message to stay in the moment, pick up our level of play and get back to playing smart lacrosse."
Monmouth trailed 4-2 at the half after Wagner notched a man-up goal with 46 seconds left in the second quarter.
Out of the locker room, sophomore Dylan Schulte (Southampton, NJ/Bridgeton Academy) and Wasserman recorded unassisted scores in the third session to knot the contest at 4-4 heading into the final frame.
In the fourth, junior Chris Daly (Wynnewood, PA/Lower Merion) notched his fourth of the season, off a feed from classmate Tyler Keen (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) to give the Hawks a 5-4 lead with 11:26 left, as Monmouth took the lead for good. Junior Dan Bloodgood (Jackson, NJ/Freehold Township) followed with a pair of scores, the first unassisted and the second off an assist from Wasserman, to push MU in front 7-4 with 3:45 showing.
Wasserman added his team-leading fifth of the year to ice the game with 18 seconds remaining, for his fourth career hat trick. Wasserman, who has registered at least a point in all 15 games of his career, now has 26 career goals.
In his second straight win, Hreshko posted 11 saves, just one off his career-high set as a freshman at Rutgers, while registering a career-best five ground balls.
Trailing 1-0, junior Zack Schleicher (Wayne, PA/Conestoga) knotted the game for the Hawks, his second of the season, off a feed from freshman Griffin Figel (Basking Ridge, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan), who registered his first career point in the Blue & White.
At 13:44 of the second quarter, Wasserman's first goal of the game tied the score at 2-2, as junior Eric Berger (Ardsley, PA/Penn Charter) was credited with the assist.
Fisher added, "While it is still very early in the season, the staff and I are happy for the guys to be 2-0. While this afternoon wasn't the cleanest of games, I loved our perseverance and how we played through some adverse situations."
Monmouth, which was 10-of-11 on clears for the game, was outshot by the Seahawks 31-25, and forced Wagner's Matt Sefcik to make nine saves.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, March 5 when the Hawks host Rutgers in non-conference action at Monmouth Stadium at 2 pm in the home opener.
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