STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. ??Junior midfielder Sinead Brierley scored the equalizer with 2:33 remaining in regulation and converted the eight-meter game-winner with 15 seconds remaining in overtime to send the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse squad to an 11-10 overtime win at Hameline Field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 4-4 to close the non-conference season at .500 while the Seahawks drop to 4-4.?

Brierley initiated the game-winning goal with a defensive play, as she forced Wagner's Marjorie Dehm to turn the ball over in the midst of a Seahawks clear attempt. Brierley scooped up the ground ball and eventually drew the foul to earn the eight-meter opportunity.?

The junior tallied her second collegiate hat trick to lead eight Hawks in scoring and added a single-game, career-high four ground balls and single-game, career-high four caused turnovers on the defensive end of the ball. Freshman attacker Stephanie Kelly went for one goal and two assists and junior attacker Francesca Donato hit the back of the net twice while graduate student goalkeeper Liz O'Sullivan made a career-high 13 saves in the win.?

"I'm proud of our team for pulling out the win in overtime," said head coach Alex Kahoe following the victory. "This was a game that was back and forth throughout the 60 minutes. Our defensive unit and Liz [O'Sullivan] had some big stops when we really needed it, and our attack came together to finish the game off with the final goal from Sinead [Brierley]."

Saint Joseph's opened the game on a 3-0 run with a free position goal from Brierley (23:16), an unassisted score from Lane (21:54), and a goal from sophomore midfielder Julia Pash (20:54), assisted by Kelly.?

Wagner responded with two in a row (16:49, 11:49) to close its deficit to one, 3-2, entering the final 11:49 of the first half.

The Hawks then scored twice in 27 seconds as Kelly hit the back of the net (9:17) on a feed from sophomore midfielder Bridget Cerciello and Donato scored (8:50) on a dish from Lane to push SJU's lead out by three goals, 5-2, entering the final 8:50 of the first half.

However, Wagner's Lauren Ednie scored twice unassisted (6:22, 5:11) and Ally Alliegro converted an eight-meter goal with 3:49 remaining on the scoreboard to equalize the score, 5-5, entering the halftime break.

Junior midfielder Ally Beck opened the second half with a goal to put the Hawks back on top, 6-5, at the 23:45 mark, but Wagner answered with two in a row (22:53, 18:32) to regain a one-goal lead.

The Hawks and Seahawks battled tremendously in the latter portion of the second half; Cerciello (16:34), Donato (12:08), and freshman midfielder Taylor Newman-Farr (5:48) kept equalizing, but Wagner kept its distance with alternating goals (14:20, 8:51, 4:06), taking a 10-9 advantage into the final 4:06 of regulation.

Following Wagner's 10th goal of the game, the Seahawks gained possession and Dehm fired a shot off of the goal post; Pash scooped up the ground ball and initiated a successful SJU clear attempt. After 20 seconds of being in their offensive third, the Hawks made a move as Brierley ripped her second goal of the day to tie it up, 10-10, with 2:33 to go.

The Seahawks found themselves with possession with 15 ticks remaining in regulation, but Saint Joseph's senior defender Catie Vivian forced a turnover and O'Sullivan took the possession home for the Hawks.?

Senior defender Kristen Kelbon forced a pair of Seahawk turnovers in the overtime frame, leading up to Brierley's late-game heroics; Kelbon matched Brierley's team-high four ground balls and four caused turnovers.

For the game, the Hawks earned a 33-26 edge in shots, while the Seahawks recorded a 31-22 advantage in ground balls. Both teams earned 12 draw controls apiece. The Hawks forced 17 of the Seahawks' 23 total turnovers on the afternoon.

Saint Joseph's opens Atlantic 10 conference action against UMass (5-3, 0-0 A-10) next Thursday, March 29. Start time is set for noon on Sweeney Field.

GAME NOTES: Saint Joseph's improves to 14-1 all-time against Wagner... Junior midfielder Sinead Brierley's career-caliber game which included the late equalizer, game-winner, hat trick, four ground balls, and four caused turnovers came in her first start of the season... Junior midfielder Rebecca Lane went for two points on one goal and one assist; with those two points, Lane breaks a tie with Meghan McDevitt '13 and sits fifth in all-time career points at SJU (152)... Lane's one helper moves her into a tie with Lindsey-Kate McCool '08 for second in all-time career assists at SJU (65), as a junior... Lane's one goal moves her to 87 for her career, which is just one shy of breaking onto SJU's all-time top ten list for career goals... With two shots, Lane remains 10th in all-time career shots at SJU (190)... Graduate student goalkeeper Liz O'Sullivan's 13 saves stands as her highest single-game saves total in all of her career games, both at Saint Joseph's and Notre Dame.