The 2023 season is here for Fairfield University women's lacrosse who will kick off the campaign Saturday afternoon with a meeting against Holy Cross at home on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Opening draw between the Stags and the Crusaders is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with live coverage available on the Stags Sports Network, with Braden Schenck on play-by-play.
LOOKING BACK AT LAST TIME
These two sides opened the season against each other a year ago, with the Stags coming away with an 18-8 victory on the road. That victory for Fairfield tied the all-time series at 10 wins apiece, with Holy Cross winning the meeting prior in 2020 with a 10-8 win in Fairfield.
STAGS SCOUTING REPORT
Fairfield women's lacrosse enters the year after what was a rollercoaster ride for the team in 2022 from the weeks leading into the opening game and all the way through the final seconds of the season. Three different players saw time as starting goalkeeper for the Stags, with now senior Casey Collins rising to the occasion after injuries riddled the Fairfield netminders, and helped the Stags on their way to the conference tournament.
The Stags lost just three games during the MAAC regular season to earn the No. 4 seed going into the MAAC postseason, and as fate would have it, Fairfield would face those same three teams on their road to the title game. The Stags defeated No. 5 Niagara in the opening round of the tournament at home, before upending championship weekend hosts, Siena in the semifinals, and Monmouth in the final to clinch the program's fourth consecutive MAAC Championship.
SCOUTING THE HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS
Holy Cross finished last season at 6-10 on the year, earning three of those wins during Patriot League competition. Jolie Creo led the way for the Crusaders last season, leading the team in points, goals, as she found the back of the net 56 times and dished out 26 assists. Defensively 14 different players recorded double-digit ground balls including four that had at least 20, and in the draw circle, three players had 24 or more controls, led by 45 from Cassidy Finley.
PRESEASON PRIZES
Giving their dominance particularly in the MAAC postseason, it's no surprise that the Stags were once again picked as the favorites to win the 2023 conference championships as voted on by the league's nine head coaches. Fairfield earned seven of nine first-place votes to top out the poll and placed three players on the all-preseason roster.
Amongst the trio of honorees are senior attacker Elizabeth Talluto, as well as graduate midfielder Nicollette LaVista, and graduate defender Caroline Mangan, a testament to the Stags' strength at all positions heading into the season.
Talluto is coming off a season where she led the team in scoring and total points with 48 goals and 22 assists including 10 goals for the stags from free position. LaVista dominated the center circle for Fairfield a year ago, collecting a career high 97 draw controls, which is a top-five all-time mark for any Stag in a single season. Mangan helped control the back third of the field once again for the squad in 2022, as she collected 44 ground balls and helped to cause 25 turnovers by opponent attackers.
All-in-all the Stags garnered seven of the nine total first place votes in the poll, and received a total of 78 points to top out the standings. MAAC newcomers Mount St. Mary's place tied for second in the poll alongside Siena who both placed with 68 points and received one of the two remaining top bids. In fourth slots Niagara who earned 51 points before another slight drop in points to the fifth spot with Canisius who totaled 39. Iona placed sixth in the poll, followed by Manhattan, Marist, and Quinnipiac to round out the nine-team MAAC contingent.
SURVEYING THE SEASON
This season's non-conference calendar for Field and the women's lacrosse team will see the squad face eight opponents representing the CAA, NEC, BIG EAST, America East, and Patriot League, including three defending league champions, before facing the eight-team MAAC contingent in the latter half of the campaign. Within the 16 total contests, the Stags will make seven appearances on the brand-new turf from Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium, including the season opener in February.
Fairfield will debut with three of its first five contests at home, before spending the entirety of the month of March on the road, with four matches on the docket that month, including the annual battle of Fairfield as the Stags head across town to play Sacred Heart. The road swing closes with the MAAC opener at Iona before a trio of home games that await the first week of April, followed by a trip to Maryland for the first in-conference meeting with Mount St. Mary's. One final date at home will see the Stags host Niagara, before back-to-back games in the Empire State to end the regular season.
DOWN THE ROAD
Following their season opener against the Crusaders, Fairfield women's lacrosse will be back in action Wednesday as they head to Storrs to take on No. 24 UConn. Opening draw between the Stags and the Huskies is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
