Wagner Win Their First NCAA Game Ever as Saint Joseph’s Survive a Vermont Shootout
Wagner had never won an NCAA tournament game before Wednesday. Now they have one, and they earned it the hard way.
The Seahawks beat CAA champions Fairfield 1-0 in the opening round at College Park, and the numbers say they had no business winning it. Fairfield outshot them 15-6, won nine penalty corners to Wagner’s three, and had Wagner pinned back for long stretches. But the Stags couldn’t beat Mia DiGenova. The Wagner goalkeeper made eight saves, a season high, and kept her seventh shutout of the year.
The goal came just after the 50-minute mark. Julia de Leeuw, the NEC’s Defensive Player of the Year, finished off Wagner’s third corner of the game to put the Seahawks ahead with under ten minutes left. She even added a defensive save to her night for good measure. Fairfield threw everything at the equaliser, winning a corner with 90 seconds left, but Konni Hofmann’s shot was saved by DiGenova and that was that.
Fairfield hadn’t been held scoreless all season. Wagner had lost eight of ten previous meetings with the Stags, including both NEC title games in 2024 and 2025. This one flips the story completely. Both games were previewed in full, and the preview had Fairfield as favourites. The reward is a Friday date with No. 2 Maryland at noon ET, 10pm PKT, on ESPN+. The two programmes have never met. Maryland are 18-2 and hosting, so Wagner go in as heavy underdogs again. They’ll like that. It worked on Wednesday.
Saint Joseph’s hold their nerve
The other opening-round tie needed a shootout, and Saint Joseph’s came through it 4-3 against Vermont at Northwestern’s Lakeside Field. It was the second game on Wednesday night’s college card, and it delivered.
Vermont struck first. Emily Enden finished a corner routine midway through the second quarter to give the Catamounts a 1-0 lead, and for a long time it looked like that might be enough. Saint Joseph’s took control in the third but couldn’t find the goal until the fourth, when Milou Kluyt fired home from a corner with 9:25 left, Alison Buffington and Monica Piccioli with the assists.
Overtime couldn’t separate them either. Avianna Wagner made two big saves early in the extra period for the Hawks, and then it went to the shootout. Wagner saved Gabby Santini’s opening attempt, Buffington put Saint Joseph’s ahead, and after three rounds it was level at 2-2. Wagner stopped Fiona McMahon’s fourth-round effort, Piccioli put the Hawks back in front, Consu de Castro levelled it again for Vermont, and Amy Noonan stepped up with the winning attempt.
It’s the Hawks’ sixth NCAA tournament win, and they’ve now won in each of the last three seasons. It’s also their third shootout win of the year, and the third in their last six games. They don’t panic in these spots anymore.
Next up is the hardest assignment in college hockey: top seed and two-time defending champions Northwestern, Friday at 1pm ET, 11pm PKT. The Wildcats are 18-2 and waiting at home. Saint Joseph’s will need another night like this one.