Women's Lacrosse

Top-Two Seeds, Fairfield and Niagara Advance to Sunday’s MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Final

FAIRFIELD, CT (May 3, 2024) – No. 1 Fairfield University and No. 2 Niagara University picked up wins in the semifinal round of the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Friday afternoon at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium in Fairfield, CT. The Stags defeated No. 5 Mount St. Mary’s 14-6 to earn their spot in the final and the Purple Eagles edged No. 3 Siena College 9-8 to punch their ticket in the title match.
 
No. 1 Fairfield – 14 | No. 5 Mount St. Mary’s – 6
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | FAIRFIELD, CT
Box Score

#22 nationally ranked Fairfield (16-1) scored the game’s final seven goals, shutting out No. 5 Mount St. Mary’s (8-10), over the final quarter and a half, to earn the 14-6 home victory in the first semifinal round contest of the afternoon. In the early goings, the Mount took their lone lead of the day, going up 2-1 following a goal by Anna Salerno at the 7:44 mark, but the Stags responded with three straight goals over the last six minutes of the quarter to go ahead 4-2. Three tallies by each side in the second would keep Fairfield’s lead at two goals (7-5) heading into the half. After Mount St. Mary’s cut the deficit to a single point with 12:59 on the clock in the third quarter, Fairfield would dominate the rest of the way, using a 7-0 rally, five of which came in the final quarter, to cruise to the eight-point win.
 
Fairfield Notes and Notables
  • Three Stags recorded hat tricks in the win, while Libby Rowe led the team with a game-high six points, tallying three goals and three assists.
  • Rylee Harrell was the next highest point earner, scoring four points behind her hat trick and one assist.
  • Maggie Fort was the third of the trio to find the back of the net three times.
  • Christine Fabrizi added a pair of goals, while Sarah Bucher, Haley Burns and Amanda Kozak each added one goal.
  • 2024 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Elizabeth Talluto, also dished three assists for the team lead in helpers.
  • Lindsay Barnes picked up a team-high four ground balls and caused two turnovers.
  • Fairfield dominated in the triumph offensively and defensively.
  • On the offensive side of the pitch, the Stags outshot the Mountaineers (33-13), had more shots on goal (20-9).
  • Defensively, the Stags caused more turnovers (12-9), held the edge in ground balls (21-16), and tripled up the draw controls battle (18-6), led by a game-high 10 won draw controls by Brynn Donnelly.
  • In net, MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year Claire Morris earned the win, only needing to make two saves.
  • With the victory, Fairfield improves the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 wins and are now a perfect 10-0 versus MAAC opponents in 2024.
  • The Stags extend their MAAC postseason winning streak to 14 consecutive victories dating back to 2018.
  • Fairfield advances to its seventh straight championship final since 2017, eighth over the past nine tournaments dating back to 2015, and a MAAC leading 15th time overall since 2001.
  • The Stags own the most MAAC Championship titles with eight total and will be looking to claim their sixth straight crown on Sunday.
 
Mount St. Mary’s Notes and Notables
  • The trio of Salerno, Madison Harmening, and Mackenzi Furlong combined to score all six goals for Mount St. Mary’s.
  • Scoring two goals and attempting a team-high four shots each were Salerno and Harmening.
  • Furlong connected her two tallies on three shots.
  • All six goals were unassisted.
  • Starting keeper, Ashlyn Watkins played all 54:44 in the defeat, making five saves and also picking up a team-high five ground balls and one caused turnover.
  • Defensively, Mackey Fick also scooped up a team-high five grounds balls and also had one caused turnover to lead the Mount.
  • Hailey Chester led the squad with three draw controls.
     
No. 2 Niagara – 9 | No. 3 Siena – 8
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | FAIRFIELD, CT
Box Score
 
The second semifinal matchup of the afternoon featured a rematch of last season’s semifinals, between No. 2 Niagara (15-3) and No. 3 Siena (13-6), with the Purple Eagles prevailing in 2024, 9-8. The Purple Eagles came out of the locker room on fire, torching the Saints with four straight goals to open the meeting. The score would remain as is at the end of the period, with Niagara comfortably ahead 4-0. Siena would respond in the second quarter, scoring back-to-back tallies to open the quarter, and outscoring Niagara 4-2 in the period to cut the deficit to 6-4 at halftime. An identical two goals each, kept the score at a two-goal margin heading into the fourth. At the 12:38 mark, Elizabeth Wamp would score a person-up goal for Siena, followed by an equalizer from Kelly Logue with 10:33, tying the contest at 8-8 midway through the final frame. After the game-tying goal, both defenses stepped up to the occasion and held the other side off the board over the next nine plus minutes. With 1:15 to play, Niagara’s Andra Savage, who entered the day as the nation’s third leading goal scorer, found the net for the first time in the game, which would prove to be the game-winning goal as the Purple Eagles fended off any late game scoring attempt by the Saints.  
 
Niagara Notes and Notables
  • Despite the close final score, Niagara never trailed in the victory.
  • The nine goals were a season-low for the Purple Eagles in a winning effort this season and the second-lowest scoring output overall during 2024.
  • Niagara took a few more shots (31-29), logged three more shots on goal (20-17), and had an edge in free-position shots (7-4).  
  • They tripled up the Saints in caused turnovers (6-2) and doubled them up in ground balls (12-6).
  • Individually, Lexi Braniecki and Maddy Gill led the way with a pair of hat tricks.
  • Braniecki’s goals came on 10 shot attempts, while Gill’s came off of seven shots.
  • MAAC Co-Midfielder of the Year Rachel Crane logged two points (one goal, one assists) and also led the way with two caused turnovers.
  • Scoring one goal apiece and winning a team-high three draw controls each were Savage and MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Sydney Huhtala, who’s tally was the first of the season for the defensive specialist.
  • Amber Daley picked up three ground balls to lead the team in that category.
  • Jordan Roy was the victorious goalkeeper, making nine saves and adding a pair of caused turnovers.
  • The win ends Niagara’s 23-year drought of making the championship final, having last played for the league crown in 2001.
  • Niagara also avenged last season’s semifinals loss to Siena with the win and snapped a three-game losing streak in the round of four.
  • The Purple Eagles will be making just their third appearance ever in the final, having previously made the title bout in back-to-back years during 2000 and 2001, and will be in search of the program’s first-ever trophy.
 
Siena Notes and Notables
  • Wamp and Logue led the way for Siena with three points each.
  • Wamp earned a hat trick on five shots and also had one draw control.
  • Logue’s points came via two goals and one assist, while she also had two caused turnovers, one ground ball, and one draw control.
  • Sarah Irish, Jordan Bentley, and Olivia Nicholson added one goal apiece.
  • Taryn Asselin dished out a pair of assists and also secured three draw controls.
  • Laura Bonomo won a game-high six draw controls.
  • Receiving the losing decision was Sabrina Krasner, who stopped 11 shots in the setback.
  • The Saints dominated the draw control battle, (14-6) which included an 8-0 advantage in the second half.
 
Fairfield and Niagara will meet in the 2024 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship final on Sunday, May 5. The championship match will also be played at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium and will air live on ESPN+ at 12 p.m.
 
Tickets for all games during the 2024 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship can be purchased through HomeTown Ticketing at the gate or by visiting maacsports.com.
 
For all information regarding the 2024 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, please visit maacsports.com/wlax.
 
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 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, 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. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.