FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse broke open a 5-5 tie with visiting Marist by scoring nine of the game's next 11 goals en route to a 17-9 victory. With the win, the Stags improve to 9-1 and secure a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship.
 
Fairfield will finish either first or second in the MAAC standings, needing either a win at Monmouth or a Siena loss to Marist on Wednesday to claim the outright crown and top seed in the upcoming postseason.
 
In today's game, Meaghan Graham scored five goals with an assist, and Libby Rowe netted a hat trick with two helpers for a career-best five points. Kelly Horning and Ellie Grefenstette also each scored three goals in the victory. Arianna Lavelle added two goals and an assist, with Diana DeVita scoring once and facilitating two scores. Rounding out the attack, Elizabeth Talluto and Maggie Reynolds each handed out one assist.
 
As a team, the 17-goal output was the most for the Stags since their last meeting with Marist – an 18-14 victory in the 2019 MAAC Championship Semifinals.
 
In addition to her hat trick, Kelly Horning had a career day in the midfield with 10 draw controls. She fell one shy of the program record and became the first player in Fairfield history to reach double-digit draw controls without taking a draw from the circle. Horning's former teammate, Erin Mammele '19, achieved double-digit draw controls four times, including twice grabbing a record 11.
 
Lindsey Barnes added five draw controls and Nicollette LaVista corralled four as the Stags held a 19-9 advantage on the restart.
 
Defensively, Caroline Mangan had three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Horning added two caused turnovers and four ground balls. In addition to her fourth assist of the season, Reynolds picked up three grounders with two caused turnovers.
 
Olivia Conquest made 10 saves in the cage to earn her ninth win of the season.
 
Samantha Mehalick led Marist with four goals, with Kerri Gutenberger adding a hat trick and Alex Di Chiara distributing three assists. Delaney Galvin made 16 saves for the Red Foxes, who fall to 2-3 with the loss.
 
"Credit to Marist, because they're in the middle of a tough situation. They have a talented, veteran team, but to come out and have to play three games in a week after a month-long hiatus is incredibly difficult," said Head Coach Laura Field.
 
"I think the biggest positive for us is the way that were able to adapt throughout the game," Field continued. "One of our takeaways from the loss to Siena was how we can adjust midgame, and you saw that today after Marist went on a run, we were able to stem the tide and accelerate out of that."
 
The Stags' regular season finale at Monmouth is slated for 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The MAAC Championship bracket will be announced later in the week, with Fairfield projected to host a quarterfinal matchup next Saturday, May 1.