SETTING THE TABLE
Fairfield University women's lacrosse returns to action Saturday opening up a three-game road trip with a visit to Marist. Opening draw between the Stags and the Red Foxes is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Tenney Stadium in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
HISTORY VS MARIST
Fairfield and Marist first met on the lacrosse field on Apr. 19, 1997, with Fairfield taking the win 15-8 at home. Saturday marks the 35th all-time meeting between the two sides, with the Stags entering the match with a 23-11 record against the Red Foxes including a 9-5 record in games played Poughkeepsie. Fairfield has dominated the series as of late, winning seven of the last ten meetings including each of the last four contests. Last time the two sides met was in the 2021 MAAC Quarterfinals where the Stags took down the Red Foxes 14-13 in overtime.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite going down by three goals after 15 minutes of play, women's lacrosse turned it on the second quarter, outscoring Iona 6-2 in the frame en route to an 18-11 win over the Gaels Wednesday afternoon.
The Stags also spread the wealth on offense once again as eight different players each tallied at least one point in the contest. In addition, 12 of the 18 goals scored by the Fairfield offense came off of an assist, led by Olivia Doody with five helpers, while she also scored a hat-trick to pace the point totals as well with eight. Elsewhere on the score sheet, Amanda Kozak netted a hat trick as well, while Elizabeth Talluto tallied four goals to pace the team in that category.
Defensively, the Stags collected 18 of 31 ground balls in the match, while the two sides were level on caused turnovers, forcing 13 each. Talluto would pace the ground ball totals for Fairfield, scooping up four, just ahead of Keyla Bay and co-captain Caroline Mangan with three apiece. Julia Rigolizzo forced a team-high three turnovers, one more than Harrell who forced a pair, and five other players who caused one. On the draw LaVista led the team with five controls, followed by four from Horning, three each from Rowe and Harrell, and a pair from Katie Bergen.
SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield opens a three-game road trip with Saturday's visit to Poughkeepsie, after winning each of their last two matches at home, defeating Sacred Heart and Iona.
Libby Rowe paces the Stags offense with 28 total points and sits second on the team in both goals (17) and assists (11). Elizabeth Talluto is tied for the team lead in the scoring column with 20 goals, alongside Rylee Harrell, ahead of Rowe and co-captain Kelly Horning with 17, and Doody leads the assist totals with 13.
On defense, Nicolette LaVista has corralled a team-high 45 draw controls, more than double the next best mark, that being 21 controls by Horning. Rowe, Horning, and Rigolizzo lead the team with 17 ground balls apiece, while Horning 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 20 thus far.
SCOUTING THE RED FOXES
After opening the season 1-1, Marist has collected just one win in its last eight contests, including an 0-2 start to the conference calendar, most recently falling 15-11 to Siena. Saturday will be the final game of a three-game homestand to open league play for the Red Foxes, who will head on the road for their next match against Manhattan in the midweek.
Kerri Gutenberger is the player to watch for the Red Foxes as she has scored more than twice as many points as any other player for Marist, tallying 43, while also pacing the team in goals and assists with 28 scores and 15 helpers. She has also locked down the center circle collecting 47 draw controls, accounting for 37% of the team's draws this season.
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 170th 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
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 was also selected to the Preseason All-MAAC roster.
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 NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAAC ROSTER
After racking up eight caused turnovers in the Stags' run to the title last season and being named the 2021 MAAC Championship MVP, co-captain Caroline Mangan was named to the 2022 preseason All-MAAC roster. Mangan in addition to her postseason accolades was named 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 is back in action Wednesday when they take on Nutmeg State rival Quinnipiac. Opening draw between the Stags and the Bobcats is scheduled for 3:00 p.m at the Quinnipiac Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium in Hamden.
