FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's lacrosse team saw their season end at the hands of Canisius on Friday night in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Semifinals. The No. 5 seeded Stags fell by a score of 10-7 as they were unable to overcome a three goal halftime deficit.
The Stags were led on offense with four points from Riley Hellstein off two goals and two assists. Senior goalkeeper Chelsey Sidaras kept Fairfield in the game with eight huge saves on the night.
Canisius was able to get on the board first just 55 seconds into the action. But Hellstein answered to tie the game at one apiece. The home side would regain the lead after seven minutes of gridlock with a goal from Taylor Giglio. But Hellstein quickly answered to notch the game at two all.
From there, the Griffs poured in the next three goals to build their 5-2 halftime advantage.
Out of the break, Canisius would get three more goals in the first 10 minutes to push their lead to five. Julieanne Mascera and Alex Fehmel tried to keep pace with the Griffs as they pulled away in the second stanza.
With the top seed holding a 10-4 lead at the 3:09 mark, the Stags tried to mount one final comeback. In a span of 54 seconds, Fairfield cut the lead in half. It was a pair of seniors leading the charge first with Colleen Reynolds scoring back to back goals. Then Maeve Quinn tallied her first of the night to make it 10-7 with 94 seconds remaining.
But the Stags were unable to gain possession off the draw control, leaving Canisius free to run out the remainder of the clock. Â
"I'm very proud of the seniors and the way they fought to the end. The legacy they will leave is unparalleled and each and every one of them will be missed," said Head Coach Laura Field.
With the win, the Griffs advance to the MAAC Championship game to face Monmouth on Sunday, May 8th.
Fairfield concludes their season with a 9-9 overall record, including a MAAC regular season mark of 4-4.Â
