FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Senior captain Jamie Leone records a hat trick as Fairfield University women's lacrosse edges Rutgers, 11-10, in their third home contest at Rafferty Stadium. The win was a group effort with Julieanne Mascera and Alex Fehmel scoring two goals apiece for the Stags, who also received goals from Colleen Reynolds, Maeve Quinn, Jenna Fuchs, and Scarlett Sulliman.

Rutgers got on the board early, with Amanda Turturro scoring the first unassisted goal of the game at 27:09. The Scarlet Knights expanded their lead to 4-0 with three consecutive goals from Kim Kolodny, Turturro, and Kristina Dunphey at 24:42, 21:54, and 16:29 respectively.  

At 14:33, Reynolds put Fairfield on the board, when she scored off a free position shot, to shift the momentum for the Stags. Fairfield proceeded on a 4-0 run, making the score 5-4, and taking the lead for the first time.

Mascera netted the first two goals, one of which was off a free position shot, at 13:00 and 10:11. Fuchs scored the third, off a feed from Sulliman, at 4:20 before Fehmel netted a free position shot at 3:08. The Stags took a 5-4 lead into halftime.   

The second half started much like the first, with Rutgers' Lauren Sbrilli scoring at 29:40, to tie the game at 5-5. Fairfield answered with an unassisted goal by Leone just a minute and a half later. Both teams continued to battle, with Sbrilli tying the game back up at 6-6 before Sulliman scored off a free position shot at 24:04 to restore the Stags' lead.

Play continued until Leone scored her second goal of the game, at 19:52, to give Fairfield their first two-goal advantage over the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers responded about four and half minutes later with a free position goal by Kolodny. Less than a minute later, Fehmel found the back of the net, off a pass from Brenna Connolly, to bring the score to 9-7.

Rutgers continued to fight, with back-to-back goals by Halley Barnes and Dunphey at 11:52 and 9:02, to once again tie the game at 9-9. Fairfield answered with two consecutive goals of their own, by Quinn and Leone at 4:58 and 3:08, respectively. The Scarlet Knights scored one last goal, but it was not enough to catch the Stags. The final goal of the game was netted by Dunphey at 1:33, sealing an 11-10 victory for Fairfield.

Fairfield slightly outshot Rutgers 23-20, had a 19-16 advantage in ground balls, and a 12-11 advantage in draw controls. Junior Chelsey Sidaras manned the net for the Stags and recorded six saves.

Fairfield women's lacrosse (2-1) will take action on the road for the first time this year. The Stags will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on Lehigh on Saturday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m.