Oct. 4, 2007

Staten Island, NY - The Wagner Women's Soccer team has officially entered "the season".

Starting tomorrow night the Seahawks will throw away the non-conference mindset and enter into the nitty gritty with their first Northeast Conference (NEC) game against the Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary's University. NEC play means being sharp and utilizing all those games in the early part of the season to be there at the end when a title is on the line.

Mount St. Mary's welcomes Wagner tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Emmitsburg, Md. with almost an identical record thus far - Mount sits at 2-7-0 while the Seahawks are 2-6-1 - and are looking to bounce back after a tough 1-0 loss to Lehigh this past Friday.

They are being lead this season by senior forward Karyn Farrar who has tallied two goals to go along with five of her teammates who have all score one goal apiece.

As for the Seahawks they, much like the Mountaineers, are being paced by a very balanced scoring attack. Seven different Wagner players have scored a goal so far this season, including three freshmen: midfielder Ashley Rastello (Eastport, NY/Eastport-Southmanor), forward Briana Vassallo (Saddle Brook, NJ/Paramus Catholic) and midfielder Jessica Balling (Seaford, NY/MacArthur).

While youth dominates Wagner on the offensive, their defensive prowess is anchored by a pair of veterans.

Junior defenders Stephanie Burnett (Cocoa Beach, FL/Satellite) and Josefine Allain (Centerville, MA/Barnstable) have both been solid in the early season in keeping the opposing team's offense in check. They assist a freshman goalkeeper Samantha Schueschner (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) who has recorded 44 saves and two shutouts thus far.

Last year the Mountaineers took a nail-biter into overtime and departed Staten Island with the victory, 1-0.