#NECWLAX Semi Recaps: Bryant Rolls & Mount Hangs On To Set Up Saturday Showdown For NEC Title 5/5/2022 Click Here For NEC Tournament Headquarters For the fourth straight year, it will be 1 vs. 2 on NEC Championship Saturday. Behind a five-goal effort from NEC Offensive Player of the Year Kenna Kaut, top-seeded Bryant scored early and often on its way to a 20-6 win over #4 LIU in the day's first NEC women's lacrosse semifinal in Smithfeld. Game two was an absolutle barnburner between two old rivals. Wagner ralllied from six down at the half to tie the game late, but it was the Mount's Christina Haspert that emerged as the hero, scoring 49 seconds into OT to send the defending champs back to the finals with a 12-11 win. Saturday's championship match is set to air live on NEC Front Row and ESPN3 at 1:00 pm with Natalie Kalibat on the call. The winner will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. #1 Bryant 20, #4 LIU 6 Click Here For Boxscore Smithfield, RI -- On a picture perfect afternoon in Smithfield, the top seed and NEC Women's Lacrosse Tournament host made a statement. Bryant scored the first eight goals of the game and were never seriously challenged in a 20-6 victory that punched a ticket to the finals for the Bulldogs. Bryant, which will meet second-seeded Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, returns to the title game for the first time since 2018 and will be seeking its fourth tournament championship. The Bulldogs wasted no time taking control, as they started the game with four goals in the first 2:11 of the contest as part of the opening 8-0 run against the Sharks. Bryant's Kenna Kaut (Media, PA/Penncrest), who was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday, sparked momentum early by scoring three of the first eight tallies on her way to a game-high five goals. Kaut has now scored five goals in four seperate contests this season. Skylar Simmonds (Jupiter, FL/Oxbridge Academy) also contributed three uninteruppted goals the Sharks broke through for the first time with 7:30 to play in the second quarter on a goal by Hannah Kenneally (Mannorville, NY/Eastport-South Manor). After Jen Gaffney (Massapequa Park, NY/St. John the Baptist) tacked on two more tallies for the Sharks, Bryant scored the last two goals of the first half, capped by a Kaut marker with six seconds on the clock that gave the Bulldogs a 12-3 lead at the break. The Sharks scored the first two goals of the third quarter to slice the deficit to 12-5, right away but Bryant netted three goals in succession and held LIU to just one goal the rest of the way out. Cassidy Burns (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge (Manhattan College)) created endless chances for her teammates, finishing with a career high of eight assists in a nine-point outing for the senior. Chamberlaine Bell (Bedford, NH/Bedford) added a goal and four assists for the Bulldogs. Simmonds had four goals on the day coming off the bench. Gaffney and Kenneally led LIU with two goals apiece. Sam Centofante (Valley Forge, PA/Conestoga) had seven saves for Bryant, picking up her 10th win on the season. Hailey Duchnowski (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) stopped 17 shots for LIU. #2 Mount St. Mary's 12, #3 Wagner 11 (OT) Click Here For Boxscore Smithfield, RI -- In a NEC Women's Tournament semifinal game that looked like it might be headed for a blowout, it turned out to be anything but a laugher. Renewing their longtime rivalry, defending NEC champion and second-seed Mount St. Mary's ended third-seeded Wagner's season in overtime for the second year in a row, thwarting a stirring Seahawk comeback on Chrstina Haspert's (Sykesville, MD/Century) golden goal to secure a 12-11 win and move on to Saturday's final against Bryant. Last spring, the Mount defeated Wagner, 9-8, in the NEC title game on a Beanie Colson (Westminster, MD/Manchester Valley) goal with five seconds remaining in OT. The Mount will now set its sights on the program's fourth NEC title. The Mount came out firing, scoring three times in the first 5:05 as NEC Midfielder of the Year Zoe Hurlburt (Bel Air, MD/Fallston), Alayna Pagnotta (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg), and Jordan Groover (Germantown, TN/Hutchison School) finished their opportunities. Megan Greco (Sound Beach, NY/Rocky Point) put the Seahwaks on the board on a free position shot, but the Mount answered right back with two goals to extend their lead to four and ended the quarter with a 5-2 advantage. The Mountaineers locked down the Seahawks in the second quarter, holding Wagner scoreless while scoring three times themselves, including back-to-back scores from Dani Donoghue (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City). With the Mount ahead 8-2 at the break, the teams traded the first four goals of the second half, higlighted by Donoghue's third and fourth goals of the match. Trailing 10-4, Wagner turned things around in a big way. The Seahawks put together an incredible 7-0 run over the next 15 minutes to pull ahead by an 11-10 score with 5:03 to play. Four different Wagner players contributed to their stunning comeback, with seniors Kasey Dorney (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) and Ally Turner (Oakland, ME/Messalonskee) serving as the catalysts. Dorney scored three fourth quarter goals and buried the go-ahead tally that made it 11-10, while Turner registered twice and netted the game-tying goal. With the momentum clearly on Wagner's side, the Mount showed their resilience, answering back less than a minute later when Haspert evened things up at 11 apiece with 4:07 on the clock to force overtime. Haspert made sure that goal wasn't her last. Just 49 seconds into OT, she circled around the net and fired a shot high past Lauren DiStefano (West Islip, NY/West Islip) to send her squad to Championship Saturday. Dorney paced Wagner with a hat trick and Wagner received two goals each from Turner, Greco and Kelsey Scheidel (Islip, NY/Islip). Donoghue led the way with four goals and added an assist for the Mount, while Haspert finished with a hat trick and five points. Madison Bradley (Haddon Township, NJ/Haddon Township) had five saves for the Mount and DiStefano made 11 saves for the Seahawks.