FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University football team opened Northeast Conference play with a 17-10 home setback against the Seahawks of Wagner College on Saturday afternoon at Campus Field.
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: (0-3, 0-1 NEC)
Wagner (1-2, 1-0 NEC)
 
Top Performers:
Rob McCoy – 8 completions, 81 passing yards, 1 INT, 5 carries, 32 rushing yards
Malik Grant – 27 carries, 135 yards, 3 catches, 40 receiving yards
Jalen Madison – 11 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD
Tyreke Brown – 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL
 
Of Note:
Solid defense led to a scoreless first quarter between Sacred Heart and Wagner.
 
The second stanza saw Wagner break through as Junior Wiley intercepted a Rob McCoy pass and returned it for a 52-yard touchdown. Wiley's touchdown was followed up with a Liszner extra point attempt that put the Seahawks up 7-0 with 6:01 left to play.
 
With the clock winding down, Wagner kept the Pioneers' offense at bay while a 42-yard field goal from Liszner put the visitors up 10-0 heading into the halftime break.
 
The third quarter saw Wagner extend its lead to 17-0 following a 10-yard touchdown pass from Steven Krajewski to Justin Wolf on a third and six at the SHU 10-yard line with 8:52 left in the stanza.
 
Following the quarter break, SHU broke through on offense, tallying seven quick points on a rushing touchdown from Jalen Madison and a Sam Renzi extra point. Madison's touchdown kept the momentum in favor of the Pioneers as a Renzi field goal trimmed the deficit seven, 17-10.
 
With today's rushing touchdown, Madison has scored a TD in all three games, while Grant tallied a season-high 135 rushing yards and 40 receiving yards. 
 
However, a late roughing the kicker call against the Pioneers sealed a Seahawks' road victory, their first of the season. 
 
Brown led the defensive unit with seven tackles behind two solo and five assisted to go along with 2.5 TFL/13 yards. The duo of DeAndre Byrd and Bayo Gbowu also served as defensive threats for the Pios as the pair finished with six tackles each.
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 23, with a road showdown against Saint Francis University (Pa.). Game time is set for 12 p.m.