SETTING THE TABLE
Fairfield University women's lacrosse plays the second of three straight road matches Wednesday when they take on Quinnipiac. Opening draw between the Stags and the Bobcats is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from the Quinnipiac Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium in Hamden.
HISTORY VS QUINNIPIAC
The all-time history between Fairfield and Quinnipiac dates back to the 2010 season, with the Stags taking a two-goal victory in Hamden. The two sides have met once every season from 2010-2019 and following the cancelation of the 2020 season amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, met twice during the 2021 campaign. The Stags have won all 12 previous meetings with the Bobcats, most recently taking a one goal victory in Fairfield on Mar. 8, 2021.
LAST TIME OUT
A back and forth first half saw Fairfield University women's lacrosse take a slim lead into halftime, but a strong third quarter proved the difference as the Stags took down Marist 20-12 Saturday afternoon.
The Fairfield offense was paced by Ellie Grefenstette who tallied a career-high eight points, splitting that total evenly in goals and assists, leading the team in those categories as well. Grefenstette led a group of five Stags who netted a hat trick or better in the match, including three players who also tallied and assist. Maggie Fort scored a pair of goals, while also dishing out two helpers for four total points on the day.
Defensively, Fort joined Libby Rowe and co-captain Kelly Horning collected a team-high four ground balls each, just ahead of Lindsey Barnes with three. Barnes led the team in caused turnovers, forcing three, one better than Macey Daly with two. Casey Collins and Olivia Conquest once again split time in the cage with Conquest making six saves and Collins making three.
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.
Leading the Stags into the weekend is Libby Rowe who has tallied the most points on the team with 32 by way of 20 goals and 12 assists. Pacing the team in the scoring column is Rylee Harrell with 23 on the season, in additions to nine assists for the second best-point total behind Rowe. Two other players have also found the back of the net 20 times this season, including co-captain Kelly Horning and Elizabeth Talluto who have also tossed out nine and eight helpers, respectively.
On defense, Nicollette LaVista has corralled a team-high 53 draw controls, more than double the next best mark, that being 26 controls by Horning. Horning also leads the team in ground balls with 21 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 16, tied with Julia Rigolizzo.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
A pair of Stags are on the cusp of adding their name to the Fairfield women's lacrosse record books, with the potential to etch their names in against the Bobcats.
With 53 draw controls this season Nicollette LaVista its tied for sixth most controls by a player in a single-season. She would need two draw controls on Wednesday to move into a tie with Colleen Reynolds '16 for the third most in a single season. For her career LaVista has collected 128 draw controls, currently the seventh most in school history, needing just three to tie Sarah Masterson '07 for sixth all-time.
Kelly Horning, who became the all-time ground ball leader at Fairfield with 188 and counting, has also forced a team-high 16 caused turnovers by her opponents. That mark puts her at 106 for her career, meaning she will enter Wednesday needing to force three turnovers to move into a tie with Kate Riitano '99 for the school record for most ground balls in a career.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Quinnipiac enters the midweek at .500 on the year in both overall (5-5) and in conference play (1-1). Last time the Bobcats took to the field was Saturday against Niagara where they were defeated by the Purple Eagles 9-8.
Kerri Gutenberger heads the offense for Quinnpiac entering Wednesday with 19 goals and five assists. Defensively, Kat Henselder has collected a team-high 31 ground balls and Melissa Murphy has collected 18 along with forcing 15 caused turnovers.
GREFENSTETTE NAMED MAAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fairfield University women's lacrosse jumped out to a 2-0 start in MAAC play, helped in large part by Ellie Grefenstette who was announced as Offensive Player of the Week by the league office on Apr. 4. In a pair of matches, Grefenstette nearly doubled her points total from the first eight games of the season, tallying 13 after ending non-conference play with 13. In the MAAC opener on Wednesday she scored a pair of goals while dishing out three assists, before finding the net four times in Saturday's trip to Marist while also handing out four helpers, leading the team with eight points on the day.
COLLINS NAMED MAAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
At a moment's notice, goalkeeper Casey Collins stepped up to the plate in a pair of matches last week for the Fairfield University women's lacrosse team and today was named Defensive Player of the Week by the MAAC on Feb. 28. Collins made her first collegiate start Feb. 23 against Boston University, stopping seven shots to help the Stags earn their first win over the Terriers, in what was also Collins first victory between the pipes. She followed up that performance with a 12-save effort that helped keep Hofstra under double-digit goals in the contest.
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 MAAC, as goalkeeper Phoebe Proctor was named Defensive Player of the Week by the league on Feb. 21. 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.
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.
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 Saturday when they conclude their three-game road trip at Siena. Opening draw between the Stags and the Saints is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Loudonville, N.Y.
