LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Junior Julieanne Mascera and sophomore Riley Hellstein each recorded hat tricks to lead Fairfield University women's lacrosse to an 11-7 victory over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Siena on the Siena Turf Field. Alex Fehmel added two tallies for the Stags, who also received goals from Colleen Reynolds, Jamie Leone, and Jenna Fuchs. Mascera, Reynolds, and Courtney Chmil each recorded an assist for Fairfield.
The Stags got on the board early, with Fuchs netting the first goal of the game at 27:35. The Saints answered with back-to-back unassisted goals from Erin Mossop and Briana Sirianni at 21:48 and 21:03 respectively. A little less than two minutes later, Fairfield netted its own set of unassisted consecutive goals to put the Stags ahead, 3-2. The first was scored by Fehmel at 19:24 while Leone followed at 18:25. Fehmel once again found the back of the net, off a feed from Chmil, at 16:16 to give Fairfield their first two-goal advantage of the game.
Play continued for the next nine minutes with neither team able to score until the Saints converted back-to-back free position attempts into goals, at 7:07 and 6:44. The first was netted by Lauren Smith while the second was scored by Mossop. Siena's Sarah Croutier was able to score an unassisted goal, at 4:26, before Reynolds answered with an unassisted goal of her own, at 2:02. Neither team was able to score for the remaining two minutes, heading into halftime tied at 5-5.
The second half started much like the first, with Fairfield's Mascera tallying the first goal, off a free position shot, at 27:36. A little less than a minute later, Sirianni netted a free position goal, to make the score 6-6. A pair of goals from Hellstein, at 25:38 and 23:49, restored the Stags' two-goal lead. The first goal was assisted by Mascera while the second was unassisted.
About two minutes later, Siena's Smith scored her second free position goal of the game to narrow the gap to 8-7. Fairfield kept up the intensity with a set of back-to-back goals by Mascera at 19:41 and 14:14. The first was assisted by Reynolds and the second was unassisted. Both teams continued to battle but neither team was able to find the back of the net for the next 13 minutes. The final goal of the game was scored by Hellstein, with just 35 seconds left to play, sealing an 11-7 victory for the Stags.
Fairfield outshot Siena 26-13 and had a slight 16-15 advantage in ground balls. The Stags picked up 11 draw controls, over the Saints' nine, while Fairfield went 11-12 on clears. Junior goalkeeper Chelsey Sidaras manned the net for the Stags, recording three saves on the day.
Fairfield women's lacrosse (7-3; 2-0 MAAC) will bring MAAC action home to Rafferty Stadium. The Stags will host Iona on Wednesday, April 1 at 3:00 p.m. before traveling to Niagara on Saturday, April 4 at 12:00 p.m.
