WHEN AND WHERE
Fairfield University women's lacrosse enters the friendly confines of Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium for the first time this season Wednesday hosting #23 UConn. Opening draw in the Nutmeg State clash is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
HISTORY VS CONNECTICUT
The all-time series against UConn began in the inaugural season of Fairfield women's lacrosse in 1997, where the Stags earned a 13-8 win over their in-state foe. To date, the Huskies lead the series 13-5 and took the most recent meeting between the two sides during the 2020 season in Storrs. The most recent win for Fairfield came just one year prior to the Huskies, where the Stags took a 13-7 win on their home turf.
LAST TIME OUT
Six different players reached the back of the Saturday as the Fairfield University women's lacrosse team took a 18-8 win over Holy Cross to open the 2022 season. Amongst the goal scorers was a trio of Stags that scored four or more goals in the contest, highlighted by five from Libby Rowe, who also added an assist to complete a six-point day.
The other two hat-tricks on the day came courtesy of Elizabeth Talluto and Rylee Harrell who both set new career-highs against the Crusaders, scoring four goals apiece. Ellie Grefenstette notched a pair of goals in the contest, as did Amanda Kozak, who joined Julia Rigolizzo in scoring the first goals of their respective collegiate careers, with Rigolizzo netting a single goal. In the assist column, Kelly Horning dished out a pair of helpers, ahead of a trio of Stags who each tallied one assist on the day.
Defensively, Harrell and Horning each collected two ground balls each, with five other players combining to make up the nine total loose balls gathered by Fairfield in the match. In the center circle Nicole LaVista controlled a team-high six draws, finishing just ahead of Rowe with five. In the cage Phoebe Proctor got the opening day nod in goal, playing the full 60 minutes and making nine saves in the process.
SCOUTING THE STAGS
2021 MAAC Midfielder of the Year Kelly Horning leads the Stags into 2022 as she returns for her graduate season. An all-around threat Horning led the team with 37 goals, while also finishing atop the stat sheet in draw controls, (55), ground balls (45), and forced turnovers (28).
Horning is joined on offense alongside Ellie Grefenstette who netted 31 goals last season, and Diana Devita who scored 22 goals and led the team with 22 helpers as well. Defensively, Nicole LaVista finished second on the team last year with 51 draw controls. Goalkeeper Olivia Conquest returns for Fairfield after starting all 15 matches between the pipes last season, posting a 13-1 record, .463 save percentage, and 10.78 goals against average.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Connecticut enters play Wednesday for the first time in 2022, and are coming off a 12-7 season that saw the team make it to the BIG EAST Championship game where they fell to then #15/17 Denver. The Huskies did earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament last season as well, dropping an opening round game 19-13 to then #11/16 Virginia.
Sydney Watson led the team scoring 56 goals while playing in all but two of the Huskies' 19 games last season, and she finished second on the team in points, behind only Lia LaPrise who tallied 78 points off 37 goals and a team best 41 assists. Grace Coon finished the year directly between them in the scoring column, reaching the back of the net 41 times in 2021, and tied Stephanie Palmucci for third best on the team in points with 45, as Palmucci netted 25 goals in addition to 20 helpers.
Defensively, Landyn White corralled a team-high 53 ground balls ahead of 45 from Alyssa Conkin and 34 from Ariana Kline who combined to collect over a third of the teams ground balls on the year. Watson led the efforts in the draw circle winning 136, which was more than double the next best mark for the Huskies, set by Madelyn George with 53. In the cage, Landyn was the majority of game action for UConn, making 167 saves and earned the decision in all 19 games she played in, while tallying a .447 save percentage and 11.78 goals against average.
STAGS EARN TOP SPOT IN MAAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
With less than two weeks before the season opener for Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced the results of the 2022 Preseason Coaches' Poll, with the Stags tabbed to finish atop the conference standings once again.
The three-time defending MAAC champions, Fairfield took home 77 overall points in the poll, including six first-place nods, finishing just ahead of 2019 and 2021 runner-up Siena with 75 points and the remaining three votes. Monmouth, Niagara, and Quinnipiac round out the top five, followed by Marist, Canisius, Manhattan, and Iona who make up No. 6 through No. 9 in the poll.
HORNING NAMED MAAC PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
In addition to the Coaches' poll, Kelly Horning was named the 2022 Preseason Player of the Year, after leading the team with 37 goals last season. Horning and Caroline Mangan were selected as Preseason All-MAAC.
Horning's preseason nod comes as she returns to the Stags for a fifth-year after garnering MAAC Midfielder of the Year honors following the 2021 regular season and has made the All-MAAC First-Team squad in each of the last two seasons.
Mangan was the 2021 MAAC Championship MVP after racking up eight caused turnover in the Stags' run to the title. She was also an All-MAAC Second Team honoree, compiling 18 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls while often charged with marking one of the opposition's top attackers.
RECAPPING THE 2021 SEASON
2021 marked another historic season for Fairfield women's lacrosse, as the team went 10-1 in the regular season, en route to earning their third consecutive MAAC championship and earned a bid into the NCAA Tournament. With the win Fairfield becomes just the second school in conference history to claim three consecutive conference titles, and move into a tie with Canisius for the most championships in the 22-year history of the MAAC with six titles all-time.
The schedule included 11 matches in a shortened season amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Stags would only face MAAC opponents in those contests, opening the year with six straight wins before suffering the first loss on Apr. 10 against Siena. Fairfield regained its footing in the next match, a 14-6 thrashing of Iona, and went on to win the final three games of the regular season.
Marist would be the first opponent in the quarterfinals, and it took overtime to settle the score, with the Stags pulling out an overtime winner off the stick of Kelly Horning, her sixth of the game to advance to the semifinals. Taking on Niagara for a spot in the championship, the Stags would net a goal late in the first half to level the game at five going into the break. Out of the half, the two sides would trade the first four goals of the half, before Fairfield score seven of the next eight goals to put the game out of reach and advance to the title game.
The Stags' would square off against Siena in the championship game, and avenged their loss to the Saints in the regular season, taking a 12-8 win to secure the program's third straight championship. The win also sent the Fairfield to the NCAA Tournament where they would fall to No. 4 seed Boston College, who went on to win the National Championship.
SEASON BREAKDOWN
The 2022 schedule includes 16 dates overall, including seven games within the friendly confines of Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. The first half of the schedule features matchups from five different conferences before an eight-game MAAC slate as the Stags look to claim their fourth consecutive conference championship.
LOOKING AHEAD
Fairfield women's lacrosse is back in action Saturday, Feb. 19 as they head to Staten Island, N.Y. to take on Wagner Opening draw between the Stags and the Eagles is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
