Fairfield and Canisius Advance to Semifinals of MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship
No. 3 Fairfield University 14 | No. 6 Iona College 5
2018 Women's Lacrosse First Round
Rafferty Stadium | Fairfield, CT
Number three seed Fairfield University (11-6) contained number six Iona College (8-10) 14-5 in a first-round matchup in the 2018 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship. Fairfield moves through to the semifinals next Thursday, which will be at Marist College.
Fairfield Notes
Sophomore goalkeeper Paulina DiFatta made 16 saves and broke the Stags' single-season record in saves in the process. DiFatta has turned away 179 shots- the previous record was 176.
Brooke Gallagher led the Stags attack with a three-goal afternoon. It was her second hat trick of the game.
Breanna Connolly, Kathleen Hulseman, and Olivia Russell had two goals each.
Connolly joins Hulseman and Russell in the 30-goal club this season.
The Stags have reached the semifinals in each of the last four years-since the MAAC went to a six-team championship.
Fairfield will meet Monmouth in the semifinals on Thursday. The two sides last met in the postseason back in 2015-also in the semifinals.
Iona Notes
Iona was making the program's second-ever appearance in the MAAC Championship
Five different Gaels scored.
Goalkeeper Shannon McCaffrey finished the afternoon with 14 saves and finished the season with a program-best 173 stops.
Number six seeds are now 0-4 all-time in the MAAC Championship.
No. 4 Canisius College 17 | No. 5 Niagara University 7
2018 Women's Lacrosse First Round
Demske Sports Complex | Buffalo, NY
Number four seed Canisius joined the other top three seeds in the semifinals of the 2018 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship with a 17-7 win over Niagara. The Golden Griffins scored the final six goals of the first half and led 9-2 at the intermission en route to the 10-goal win.
Canisius Notes
Will play in the semifinals for the 11th-straight season. They face number one seed Marist on Thursday night.
The seven goals allowed was the sixth time this season that Canisius prevented its opponents from crack double digits.
Jen Reininger tallied six goals on Saturday night, which brings the senior's total to 52 this season.
Allie Stewart added four goals against the Purple Eagles, which is one off her season high.
Rebecca VanLaeken made 12 stops between the pipes for the Golden Griffins.
Niagara Notes
Rachel MacCheyne had two goals and now has 58 goals on the season.
Olivia Schroeder and Aubrey DeVeau shared time in goal on Saturday night. DeVeau made five stops.
The seven goals scored tied a season-low for the Purple Eagles-scored seven against Yale.
About the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship
For more information on the 2018 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship, visit
maacsports.com/wlax. Championship tickets can be purchased at
maac.ticketleap.com, and will also be sold on-site during the event. Be sure to follow the conversation on all social media platforms by using #MAACLAX.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.