FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A high-scoring affair on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium saw Fairfield University women's lacrosse fall to Monmouth, 21-16 Wednesday afternoon.
"Credit to Monmouth, they played hard and they played without any fear," said Head Coach Laura Field post-game. "I think the subs that we had come in make some significant changes, our captains played well, but by-in-large we need to do better to win these games."
Co-captain Kelly Horning led the Fairfield offense in both points and goals with five goals and a pair of assists, leading a group of six Stags who tallied at least one point on the day. Rylee Harrell finished second on the team with four goals, followed by Elizabeth Talluto and Maggie Fort who each scored a hat trick, with Talluto also adding two assists, and Fort tallying one. Libby Rowe added a single goal on the day, and Olivia Doody notched a single helper.
Defensively, co-captain Caroline Mangan led the ground ball totals with three alongside netminder Casey Collins, ahead of Amanda Kozak with two and five players who each collected one. In the draw control department, Nicollette LaVista led the team with three alongside Maggie Fort, followed by a pair of players with two in Harrell, and Haley Burns. Grace MacCallum forced three turnovers by the Hawks, the most by any Stags today, followed by two players who forced two apiece.
Monmouth opened the scoring with a pair of goals in the opening 80 seconds of play, before a pair of Goals by Harrell and Talluto brought the match even at 2-2. After back-to-back scores by the Hawks once again, Fairfield went on a 4-0 run to end the quarter, taking a 6-4 lead after 15 minutes of play.
In the second frame, Monmouth once again matched the Stags' scoring output with four goals of their own, to flip a two-goal advantage to the visitors. Fort and Horning would find the back of the net for the Stags to level the game at eight, but the Hawks would score the final three goals of the quarter to send the Stags into the locker room trailing by three.
After the halftime stoppage, the Hawks extended their run with the first five goals of the quarter, taking a 16-8 lead, the largest of the day. Fairfield would net three of their own to cut the deficit back to five, before Monmouth tacked on one more goal late to take a 17-11 heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw the Hawks score first yet again, followed by back to back goals by Talluto and Horning to bring the Stags back to within five. After Monmouth added one more to their tally, Fairfield would score three in a row to draw within three, but that's the closest they would get as the Hawks tacked on a pair of insurance goals late to put the game out of reach.
Fairfield women's lacrosse is back in action Saturday for the final road-trip of the regular season as they head to upstate New York for the third straight weekend, taking on Niagara. Opening draw between the Stags and the Purple Eagles is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. in Niagara, N.Y.
