NOTE: This story was edited on Friday, March 29 to reflect changes in the official scoring.

HAMDEN, Conn. – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse kept host Quinnipiac off the board for a stretch of more than 21 minutes in the second half of Wednesday's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener. The Stags' attack went on to score for goals during that span and fought off a late charge by the Bobcats to claim a 9-8 decision over their in-state MAAC foe. Kelly Horning and Meaghan Graham each netted hat tricks to pace the offense.
 
With the win, Fairfield improves to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the MAAC. The Bobcats drop to 3-7 with an 0-2 conference mark. The Stags are now 10-0 all-time against Quinnipiac. Wednesday's game marked Fairfield's first contest in which neither team reached the 10-goal mark since 2016, when the Stags played in four games without a double-digit score on either side.
 
Horning's three-goal outing was her third career hat trick. The sophomore, who was a MAAC All-Rookie Team and All-Championship Team selection last spring, filled out her statline today with five ground balls, four caused turnovers and two draw controls. Horning had missed Fairfield's last six outings due to injury.
 
"Kelly was outstanding today as a true midfielder on both offense and defense," said Head Coach Laura Field. "It's a luxury to have her; she opens up a different dimension of the game for us."
 
Graham picked up a hat trick for the fifth time as a Stag, while Brooke Gallagher added a pair of goals and Jillian Winwood scored one. Facilitating the attack were Gallagher, Diana DeVita and Kathleen Hulseman with one assist apiece.
 
The first half of action, which did not feature a multi-goal lead by either team, wrapped up with the score deadlocked at 5-5. Coming out of the intermission, Quinnipiac would be the squad to break the stalemate, taking a 6-5 advantage with 24:18 to play.
 
At that point, however, Fairfield went on the only extended run of the game, which proved decisive to the final margin. The Stags netted the contest's next four goals – two from Gallagher with one apiece by Horning and Graham – while a swarming defensive effort kept the Bobcats off the board for 21:43 en route to building a 9-6 lead.
 
Quinnipiac made one final push with time ticking away as Gabby Beckett and Maddie Deegan both scored late to trim the margin to 9-8 with 1:52 to play. The Bobcats won the ensuing draw to earn a chance at the equalizer, but Maggie Reynolds caused a turnover and scooped up the ground ball to give possession back to the Stags with the shot clock turned off. After a clear and a timeout, the Fairfield attack kept the defense on the move, playing keep-away as time expired on the road victory.
 
Reynolds' final defensive stand was her third caused turnover on the day to lead the Fairfield backline. Olivia Conquest added seven saves to secure her sixth victory of the season in the cage.
 
"This type of game is exactly what we expected," noted Field of her squad's one-goal victory. "Quinnipiac is a well-coached, very tough team. We expect this out of them and we expect it out of the rest of the league all year long."
 
The Bobcats were led by three goals and an assist from Megan Szawlowski. Allie Kelsey and Sami Walters split the effort in goal for Quinnipiac and made four and five saves, respectively.
 
Fairfield follows up its shortest road trip of the season with its longest – trekking to Niagara to continue MAAC play against the Purple Eagles on Saturday, March 30. Opening draw from Western New York is slated for noon. Niagara is currently 3-7 overall and 0-1 in the MAAC after most recently dropping a 16-5 decision at #8 Michigan on Monday.