PRINCETON, N.J. – Yet again this season, Fairfield University women's lacrosse went toe-to-toe for 60 minutes with one of the nation's top programs this afternoon, but fell in heartbreaking fashion, 12-11 to fifth-seeded and #4 nationally-ranked Syracuse in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Six different players found the back of the net in the contest led by Libby Rowe who tallied four goals for the Stags. Amanda Kozak and Maggie Fort were the other multi-goal scorers for Fairfield, while Ellie Grefenstette and Elizabeth Talluto both scored a single goal in addition to a pair of assists. Rounding out the scoring was Olivia Doody who netted one goal and dished out a single helper.
Against an offense that entered Friday seventh in the country in scoring, the Fairfield defense held Syracuse to its second-lowest scoring output of the season, and the only unranked opponent to score double digits against the Orange in 2022. The other three teams to hold the Syracuse offense to 12 or fewer goals were all national-ranked in the top-15 at the time.
Helping to lead the defensive efforts for the Stags was co-captain Kelly Horning who corralled seven draw controls in the final game of her collegiate career, closing out her tenure as a Stag with 170, tied with Riley Hellstein '17 for the third most in program history, amongst a number of other records.
Julia Rigolizzo led the ground ball totals with four on the day, followed by three from Lindsey Barnes, and a trio of players with two apiece, while Rigolizzo also forced a pair of turnovers by the Syracuse offense. In the cage for Fairfield, Olivia Conquest stopped 12 shots finishing with an even .500 save percentage in just her second loss all season.
Syracuse struck first in the contest with a goal 48 seconds into play, before doubling their advantage a couple of minutes later. The Stags remained composed and netted their first from a free-position attempt by Rowe, before Fort scored shortly after to level the score at two. Another goal by Rowe less than two minutes later gave Fairfield its first lead of the day, 3-2, which they would see out through the end of the quarter.
The Stags held one of the highest scoring offenses in the nation off the board for just under 15 minutes, before the Orange finally broke through again, scoring a pair early in the second to reestablish a one-goal advantage. Kozak would score from free position to level the match at four, before another quick two goal run by Syracuse. Grefenstette would net one more for the Stags in the latter stages of the frame, but a pair of goals by the Orange in the final 30 seconds put Fairfield behind by three at the break.
Out of the locker room Syracuse would score just over a minute into the second half to go up by four, before the Stags defense was able to hold their opponents from scoring for nearly ten minutes. In that time, Rowe netted another goal from free position but two goals by the Orange in the final three minutes gave them their biggest lead of the day, 11-6 heading into the fourth.
Fairfield took just over a minute to find the back oft the net in the final period, as Fort scored her second of the day, followed by a goal from Talluto just over a minute later. Syracuse would add one back, before Kozak scored to cut the deficit back to three. Rowe would tack on her fourth of the contest followed by an Doody score to cut the deficit to one. The Stags would get a handful of opportunities in the offensive third late, but a defensive stand by the Orange kept Fairfield off the board until the final buzzer, as Syracuse will advance to the second round Sunday at Princeton.
Fairfield women's lacrosse ends the regular season at 13-7 overall, making their sixth NCAA tournament appearance after claiming the program's seventh conference championship and fourth overall.
