FAIRFIELD, CT (May 7, 2023) – No. 1 Fairfield University captured the 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Lacrosse Championship title on Sunday, May 7 at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium in Fairfield, CT. The Stags defeated No. 2 Siena College, 17-4, securing their program’s fifth consecutive MAAC crown.
 
No. 1 Fairfield 17 | No. 2 Siena 4
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | FAIRFIELD, CT
Box Score
 
Fairfield (14-4, 7-1) used a 6-0 run in the opening period to take a controlling lead in the championship. After Siena’s (12-7, 6-2) Katy Wangsness scored the game’s opening goal less than two minutes into the meeting, the Stags reeled off six straight, highlighted by a hat trick from Elizabeth Talluto. The hexad of goals came from Talluto (9:49, 6:01, 4:39), Grace Slater (11:20), Ellie Grefenstette (3:41), and Libby Rowe (2:50). Siena ended the rally late in the quarter by way of a Jordan Bentley tally with a minute on the clock but a goal with six seconds to play by Fairfield’s Slater made the lead 7-2 for the Stags and they never looked back. In the second, Fairfield extended its lead to 10-2, opening the quarter with three straight scores through the first six minutes of action, which included Slater joining Talluto with a hat trick of her own. The Stags would use a 4-2 goal edge the rest of the period to take a commanding 13-4 lead into the locker room. Fairfield would shut down Siena’s offense in the second half, with the home side holding the visitors scoreless the final 30 minutes of action. Over the final two frames, Siena only got six shots off, four on target, while Fairfield posted a 4-0 goal advantage to earn the 17-4 triumph.
 
Fairfield Notes and Notables

• Fairfield outshot Siena by a dominating 26-shot margin (39-13) and a 17-shots on target margin (27-10) – which included going a perfect 7-for-7 on shots in the first quarter.
• Offensively, the Stags had eight different goal scorers in the win.
• Leading all-scorers in points was Grefenstette who finished her afternoon with seven points, scoring a pair of goals and dishing out five assists, while Talluto was the top goal scorer on the day, finishing her afternoon with four goals and an assist for five points.
• Both Olivia Doody and Slater earned hat tricks, while Doody also chipped in with two assists and Slater added one assist.
• Additionally, Rowe recorded four total points, adding a pair of goals and a pair of assists.
• Defensively, Fairfield picked up more ground balls (17-11), won the turnover battle (11-15), recorded more caused turnovers (10-7), and won more than triple the amount of draws (17-5).
• The defensive for the Stags was spearheaded by 2023 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and Championship Most Valuable Player, Caroline Mangan, who won 10 draw controls, caused six turnovers, and picked up three ground balls in the win.
• In net, Casey Collins was the victorious goalkeeper, making six saves while improving to 14-3 on the season.
• Fairfield improves to 6-0 against Siena in postseason play and 9-0 at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium overall in postseason action.
• The Stags add their MAAC-leading eighth trophy to their trophy case.

 
Siena Notes and Notables

• Wangsness was the lone Saint to score multiple points, ending the game with a pair of goals.
• Bentley and Amanda Nieman scored Siena’s final two goals on the day, recording a tally apiece, while Grace Dobrzynski added an assist.
• Sabrina Krasner played 58:32 minutes in goal for the Saints, making 10 saves in the defeat to cap off her MAAC tournament action with 21 total saves.

 
Championship Game Notes

• Fairfield becomes the league’s first program to win five straight MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championships.
• The 13 goal differential (17-4) was the largest margin of victory ever in the MAAC final, surpassing the previous high of 12 (Canisius over Monmouth in 2016, 17-5).
• The four goals allowed were tied for the fewest ever in a championship final, matching Manhattan in 2005.
• The 17 goals scored tied for the second-most in the title game, with only the 2009 Stags scoring more (19) and matching Canisius in the aforementioned 2016 final.

 
Fairfield earns the MAAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The Stags will find out their opponent during the Division I Women’s Lacrosse Selection Show on ESPNU tonight at 9:00 p.m.
 

2023 Women’s Lacrosse All-Championship Team
Name	School
Rachel Crane	Niagara
Sydney Huhtala	Niagara
Mia Delmond	Quinnipiac
Melissa Murphy	Quinnipiac
Jordan Bentley	Siena
Hannah Field	Siena
Kelly Logue	Siena
Olivia Doody	Fairfield
Ellie Grefenstette	Fairfield
Nicolette Lavista	Fairfield
Elizabeth Talluto	Fairfield
Caroline Mangan (MVP)	Fairfield

 
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 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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