SETTING THE TABLE

Fairfield University women's lacrosse returns to the Nutmeg State for a brief two-game home stand, beginning Saturday when they host crosstown foe Sacred Heart. Opening draw between the Stags and the Pioneers is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. from Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.

HISTORY VS SACRED HEART

Fairfield and Sacred Heart faced off at least once per year from 2008-2019, but Saturday will mark the first time in three seasons that they will meet on the lacrosse field. The Stags have owned the all-time series, winning all 14 previous meetings with the Pioneers, including a 12-11 win in the most recent contest between the two sides back almost three years to the date, back on Mar. 20, 2019.

LAST TIME OUT

Against one of the top teams in the nation, Fairfield University women's lacrosse put up a strong fight for 60 minutes, but it wasn't enough as the Stags were outlasted by No. 9 Denver, 15-10 Wednesday afternoon. Rylee Harrell paced the offense with six goals and one assist on the day.

Harrell's six goals led a group of four Stags that reached the back of the net against the Pioneers, with co-captain Kelly Horning scoring a pair of goals to join Harrell as the only multi-goal scorers for Fairfield. Elizabeth Talluto and Olivia Doody each scored as well, and Ellie Grefenstette provided a single assist.

Defensively, the Stags were led by Horning and Nicollette LaVista who tallied four draw controls apiece, and co-captain Caroline Mangan who collected three ground balls. Lindsay Barnes forced two of the Pioneers' six turnovers in the game, and in the cage, Casey Collins stopped eight shots, holding Denver to just one goal in the opening quarter.

SCOUTING THE STAGS

Fairfield returns to the Nutmeg State after falling to the No. 9 team in the nation in their last outing on Saturday. Sacred Heart will be the final tune up for the Stags in non-conference play, with the MAAC portion of the schedule beginning at the end of the month.

Libby Rowe paces the Stags offense in assists with nine and total points with 23. Rylee Harrell leads the team in goals with 18, four ahead of Elizabeth Talluto with 14, and the pair sit second and third on the team, with 22 and 20 points, respectively.

On defense, Nicolette LaVista has corralled a team-high 37 draw controls, more than double the next best mark, that being 14 controls by Harrell and co-Captain Kelly Horning. Horning leads the team with 15 ground balls on the year and also leads all active Division I players in ground balls for a career, and she has also caused the most turnovers of any Stag, forcing 14 thus far.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

Sacred Heart enters the weekend at 2-3 on the year playing just their second game away from home this season. Lydia Werlau is the only player to reach double figures in the scoring column, netting a team-high 17 goals in addition to four assists to also lead the team in points with 21. Grace Reinold is tied with Werlau for the team lead in assists, while sitting in a tie for second in goals with nine. Defensively, Clare McElhenny has collected a team-best 22 draw controls, and Lisa Martin has corralled 13 ground balls, one ahead of Natalie Cook. In the cage, a trio of players have split time, with Martin seeing the most action, coming into Saturday with a .483 save percentage and 12.05 goals against average, and a 2-3-0 record between the pipes.

HORNING SETS PROGRAM RECORD FOR GROUND BALLS

With a ground ball in the first half of a Feb. 16 meeting with UConn, Kelly Horning collected the 170^th ground ball of her career, passing Mary Tortora for the all-time record at Fairfield University.

PROCTOR NABS MAAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

It took just two weeks for a member of the Fairfield University women's lacrosse team to earn weekly honors from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), as goalkeeper Phoebe Proctor was named Defensive Player of the Week by the league Monday. The award for Proctor follows a two-match week that saw her play all 120 minutes in the cage, and picked up her second win of the season on the road last Saturday at Wagner.

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.

SEASON SNAPSHOT

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 will have 11 days off to work on final preparations for the conference season, with the MAAC portion of the schedule beginning when the Stags next take the field against Iona in the backend of a two-game home stand. Opening draw against the Gaels is scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 30 at 3:00 p.m. from Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium.