FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's lacrosse team heads to West Long Branch, New Jersey to take on the MAAC leading Monmouth Hawks on Wednesday at 3:00 pm. The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with the Stags searching for their third consecutive victory.
Fairfield (6-6, 2-2 MAAC) vs. Monmouth (8-5, 4-0 MAAC): The Stags and Hawks will meet on Wednesday for the 15th time in program history. Fairfield is 9-5 against Monmouth, winning the previous nine matchups. Last season, Fairfield topped the Hawks twice, both by a score of 8-7.
Scouting the Hawks: Monmouth is 8-5 this season and is undefeated thus far in conference play. Most recently, the Hawks bested Quinnipiac 15-6 on April 9. Senior midfielder Marial Pierce leads Monmouth in points with 43 off 22 goals and 21 assists. Behind her is sophomore Alexa Smith and junior Olivia Higson with 32 and 30 points respectively. And in cage, senior Caroline Huelster posts a 10.34 goals against average to go along with 126 saves. The senior is the reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Week and leads the conference with a .500 save percentage and 37 saves in league play.
Last Time Out: The team topped Siena 10-9 for their second straight victory. The Stags trailed 9-7 midway through the second half, but took over the game from then on scoring the final three goals. With the Stags down by two, Alex Fehmel took it herself and fired a shot past the keeper to cut the lead to one. The tying goal came at the 9:47 mark with Fehmel finding Colleen Reynolds for the goal. The junior then took a free position shot at 5:35 to put the Stags up for good, 10-9.
Racking Up the Points: Two Stags now have double digit point streaks after Saturday's win over Siena. Julieanne Mascera recorded an assist to bring her streak to 24. And junior Alex Fehmel had four points in the last game and has now tallied at least one point in 33 straight contests.
Top of the MAAC: Fairfield is among the leaders of the MAAC and tops in the nation in two critical statistics. The Stags are second in the league with 12.50 draw controls per game, which ranks tied for 25th in the country. As good as they are at controlling the ball, they protect it as well. Fairfield leads the league with the fewest turnovers per game at 12.50, a mark that is 14th best in the nation.
Looking Ahead: The Stags will play at home on Wednesday, April 20 welcoming Quinnipiac to Rafferty Stadium.
