Fairfield and Siena Advance to 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game
Fairfield and Siena Advance to 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game

Fairfield and Siena Advance to 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game

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No. 1 Fairfield University - 18 | No. 5 Marist College - 14
2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Semifinal
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | Fairfield, CT
 
Fairfield University defeated Marist College by a final score of 18-14 to move on to the 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game. The Stags return to the final for the third year in a row and will look to win the team’s second-straight title. After a back and forth first half, the Stags were able to build a seven-goal lead midway through the second half. After a strong push from Marist brought the Red Foxes within two, late goals from Kathleen Hulseman, Kelly Horning, and Brooke Gallagher secured the win for Fairfield and sent them to the championship game. 
 
Fairfield Notes
  • The Stags started off hot with a goal from Diana DeVita 37 seconds into the contest, with Taylor Mitchell notching another score 29 seconds later to give Fairfield the 2-0 lead 1:06 into the game
  • Down 4-3 at the 19:40 mark of the first half, Fairfield went on a five-goal run to claim an 8-4 lead. Three goals on the run were scored by graduate student Brooke Gallagher
  • The Stags carried an 8-5 lead heading into the half
  • Fairfield started the second half on a 4-0 run, jumping to a game-high seven goal lead
  • After a comeback from the Red Foxes to cut the deficit to two, goals from Kelly Horning and Kathleen Hulseman gave the Stags momentum heading into the final five minutes of the game
  • Gallagher and Hulseman led the Stags in scoring, recording seven and five respectively
  • Megan Graham dished out five helpers, finding the back of the net twice as well for a total of seven points
  • Olivia Conquest, a freshman, had 10 saves with 14 goals allowed for a save percentage of .417
Marist Notes
  • After letting up two quick goals to start the game, the Red Foxes battled back to grab the next three in a row off the hands of Devon Connolly, Kelly George, and Samantha Mehalick
  • After not scoring for the first 12:59 of the second half, Mehalick and Connolly scored back-to-back within 12 seconds to keep the Red Foxes in the game. Marist would go on a 7-2 run to get the score within two at the 8:41 mark of the second half
  • Mehalick finished with seven goals in the game and 79 goals on the season, breaking the previous MAAC record of 76 set by Erica Evans of Canisius in 2017
  • Hailey Wagner broke the NCAA Division I single-season record for draw controls, recording her 218th at the 20:27 mark of the second half and finishing with 224 in total
  • Devon Connolly was second on the team with three goals. George found the back of the net twice, Wagner and Audrey Cerrone both scored once each
 
No. 3 Siena College – 16 | No. 2 Monmouth University - 15
2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Semifinal
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | Fairfield, CT
 
Siena College defeated Monmouth University by a final score of 16-15 to advance to the school’s first MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship since 2005. The Saints found themselves down six in the first half with a score of 9-3. Siena closed the half out on a 5-2 run to close the gap to three before the break, ending on a buzzer beating goal from Nicole McNeely. Siena would go on to score the first six goals of the second half, taking the lead and not looking back. The Saints will search for the school’s first MAAC title in its history.
 
Siena Notes
  • The Saints fell into an early 9-3 hole by the halfway point of the first half, with goals from Julia Pelcher (2) and Kerry Gerety
  • Siena scored the final two goals of the first half in the last 24 seconds to cut the lead to 11-8 at the break
  • The Saints came out of the locker room scoring six-straight goals to completely erase the deficit and take a 14-11 lead
  • Siena outscored Monmouth 8-4 in the second half
  • Seven different Saints found the back of the net, with Nicole McNeely, Mary Soures, and Annie Brennan all scoring three times each
  • McNeely added four helpers to bring her point total up to seven
  • MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year Sammy Horton made eight saves
  • The win marks the first time the Saints have made the championship game since 2005. Siena will be looking for the school’s first MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship
Monmouth Notes
  • After falling behind 1-0, the Hawks scored three unanswered to take a 3-1 lead
  • The Hawks led by as many as six in the opening frame and entered the second half up 11-8
  • In the first half, five different Hawks found the back of the net
  • Monmouth didn’t score in the second half until the 16:16 mark, only collecting three more goals from that point on
  • Allison Turturro scored her fifth of the game, the most of any Monmouth player, to bring the Hawks within one goal with 15.1 seconds remaining
  • MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Nicole Ceraso scored twice and added two helpers for a total of four points

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 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 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.