SETTING THE TABLE
After last weekend's win over Canisius, Fairfield University women's lacrosse has advanced to the semifinal round of the 2022 MAAC Championships, taking on No. 2 Siena Friday afternoon in upstate New York. Opening draw is slated for 12:00 p.m. from Hickey Field in Loudonville, N.Y.

MAAC QUARTERFINALS: NO. 4 FAIRFIELD 15, NO. 5 CANISIUS 7
An end-to-end effort last weekend saw the Stags take down No. 5 seed Canisius, 15-7 in the first round of the 2022 conference tournament and advance to the semifinal round of the championship.

Maggie Fort helped to pace the Fairfield offense with five points on the day, including four goals, while Olivia Doody joined her atop the stat sheet with two goals and three assists. Amanda Kozak also netted a hat trick on the day, while co-captain Kelly Horning notched a pair of goals and a pair of assists as well. Libby Rowe tallied a single assist, Ellie Grefenstette scored two goals as well in addition to one assist, and Elizabeth Talluto rounded out scoring with the same output.

Defensively, Horning led the team with four ground balls, followed by both Rowe and Talluto with three apiece, and four players that each had two. Co-captain Caroline Mangan paced the team, forcing five turnovers, followed by Horning who forced four, and also led the team in draw controls with five, followed by a pair of players with two apiece in Fort and Nicollette LaVista.

SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield concluded the regular season with a 10-6 record on the year, including five wins in conference play. The Stags' have now reached double-digit wins in four of the last five seasons under Coach Field, with the lone exception being the Pandemic shortened 2020 season where they played just seven games before the season was canceled. Four players were named to 2022 All-MAAC rosters for their play in the regular season, on a team that has spread the workload both offensively and defensively all season long.

Elizabeth Talluto leads the Fairfield offensive into the postseason after scoring a team-best 60 points on the year, scoring 41 goals in addition to 19 assists, averaging the fifth-best points per game total in the MAAC. Rylee Harrell sits behind Talluto in scoring with 35 goals followed by co-captain Kelly Horning with 33 goals in addition to 13 assists for 46 points. The Stags have spread the wealth all season long, with six different players scoring 20 or more goals and two other players just outside of that group. Olivia Doody has led the assist numbers with 24 in addition to 14 goals and Ellie Grefenstette has dished out 22 helpers while also finding the back of the net 21 times.

On defense, LaVista has corralled a team-high 85 draw controls, nearly double the next best mark, that being 47 controls by Horning, who leads the team in ground balls with 39 and leads all active Division I players in ground balls for a career. She has also caused the most turnovers of any Stag, forcing 30, and is the current program record holder in both ground balls and forced turnovers.

FOUR STAGS CLAIM ALL-MAAC HONORS AHEAD OF MAAC QUARTERFINALS
Ahead of the opening round of the 2022 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships tomorrow, four members of the Fairfield University women's lacrosse team earned All-MAAC nominations Friday afternoon. The Stags' 2022 co-captains Kelly Horning and Caroline Mangan highlighted the group earning First Team accolades, while both Elizabeth Talluto and Nicollette LaVista nabbed Second Team honors.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS
Mary Sources leads Siena into the match up this weekend after scoring 60 goals to lead the team this season. Just behind her in scoring is Nicole McNeely who has scored 45 goals while also dishing out 38 assists, one off the team lead to top the points total for the Saints with 83 thus far. Grace Dobrzynski has scored 14 goals but leads this weekends hosts with 39 assists. 

Defensively, McNeely leads the ground ball numbers with 44, ahead of 31 from Ally Mervine, while Emily Fiorillo has forced the most turnovers on the team, causing 20, three in front of both Jenna Colabufo and McNeely. The latter of that pair has done it all for Siena this season, as she has also paced the draw control totals with 82, followed by 50 from Jordan Bentley.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
Monmouth and Siena both ended the regular season with a 6-2 record in MAAC play to claim the MAAC regular-season title, with Monmouth taking a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Saints to claim the No. 1 overall seed. Niagara claimed the No. 3 seed with a 5-3 record, followed by the Stags in the No. 4 spot. Canisius earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament, followed by No. 6 Manhattan to round out the 2022 bracket.

After scoring in the final seconds of regulation, Manhattan captured an upset win over Niagara in double-overtime in the first of two opening-round games last weekend, advancing to take on top-seeded Monmouth. Fairfield defeated Canisius in the second game, 15-7 on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium, and to advance and take on the Saints Friday afternoon.

LOOKING AHEAD
The winners from today's semifinal games will advance to the 2022 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship Game Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Siena.