FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Stags never trailed by more than three goals at any point in the game, but a pair of goals late proved to be the difference as Fairfield University women's lacrosse fell to No. 23 UConn 12-10 in Wednesday's home opener at Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Elizabeth Talluto paced the Stags offensive effort, contributing five points on the day for Fairfield, who sit at 1-1 on the year heading into the second weekend of the regular season.
"I'm proud of our effort, particularly the way we came back after falling behind by three goals," said Head Coach Laura Field. "But I'm also disappointed in our fourth quarter and frustrated that we didn't finish the game. Five years ago, we would have been happy to have been this close with a ranked team. But we know that we can play with top-20 teams, and we've got to show it better than we did today."
Talluto and Amanda Kozak each scored a hat-trick against the Huskies to lead the scoring, with Rylee Harrell also netting a pair of goals. Libby Rowe scored a goal in addition to leading the offense with three assists, followed by two from Talluto and a trio of Stags who each provided one helper in the contest, including Kelly Horning who also scored once in the game.
Defensively, Nicollette LaVista led the efforts in the center circle collecting nine draw controls, while Phoebe Procter gathered a team-best five ground balls while also making 12 saves between the posts in a full 60 minutes of work. Elizabeth Myers and Julia Rigolizzo also scooped up four ground balls apiece, and Rigolizzo joined Horning and Lindsey Barns in forcing a combined six turnovers by the Huskies.
Fairfield held the early possession in the game, but it would be UConn who go on the board first, scoring just over three minutes into play to take an early lead. The Stags would counter with a goal a couple minutes later to level the score and take their first lead of the game at the midway point of the opening quarter. The Huskies would add a goal before the end of the first and bring the two sides to a 2-2 deadlock after the opening 15 minutes.
Once again, the score sat unchanged for the early portion of the frame, before Fairfield retook the lead on a goal by Kozak four minutes in. UConn would strike less than two minutes later with a pair of goals 22 seconds apart to take a 4-3 lead, which would hold into the latter stages of the half. The Huskies would stretch their advantage to two late in the frame, the first of a combined three goals scored in the final 87 seconds that sent the teams into halftime with the visitors up still up a pair.
UConn would open the scoring just 49 seconds into the second half, before Fairfield was able to turn flip the script on the national-ranked Huskies, rattling off four straight goals in a span of four minutes to take back a one-goal lead. Connecticut would reach the back of the net late in the period to level the score and take both teams into the final frame looking to gain the edge in a gritty defensive battle.
The Huskies added made it back-to-back goals as they opened the scoring in the fourth, a goal that was matched by the Stags two minutes later. That Fairfield goal would be the first of two in the span of 1:14 by Talluto, both of which would bring the score back even, as UConn was able to add another goal between the pair of goals by Talluto. A Huskies' goal a couple minutes later would separate the sides for the remainder of the quarter and another score in the final 60 seconds set the final difference at two as the Stags come up just short in a strong fight against one of the nation's top teams.
Fairfield women's lacrosse returns to action Saturday as they travel to New York to take on Northeast Conference (NEC) foe Wagner. Opening draw between the Stags and the Seahawks is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
