Gearing up for the penultimate non-conference bout of the season, Fairfield University women's lacrosse returns to action Saturday, Mar. 11 as they head down to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on Drexel. Opening draw between the Stags and the Dragons is slated for 1:00 p.m. with the broadcast of the action available from Drexel for purchase on FloLive.
STAGS SCOUTING REPORT
Seeking its third consecutive victory, Fairfield enters the weekend at 4-2 on the year riding last Saturday's 14-9 victory at Vermont to kick off the road trip after defeating Hofstra 15-7 in the game prior. The Fairfield offense has scored no less than 12 goals in each of the first six games to open the campaign and scored a season-high 17 earlier this year at UConn. As a team, the Stags have scored 84 goals already this season and have assisted on 33 of those scores. Fairfield enters competition sitting 33rd out of 118 Division I schools in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse RPI, the same place they sat at the end of last season after nearly upending No. 5 Syracuse in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
A top-25 offense in the nation, the Stags enter play Saturday scoring an even 14 goals per game which slots 22nd in the country while averaging 5.5 assists per game which currently slots 39th in the nation. From free position, Fairfield sits seventh amongst all DI teams, scoring on those chances at a 60% clip, and the offense is also placed 33rd at 19.5 points per contest.
Elizabeth Talluto leads the Stags offense and sits tied for 18th amongst all Division I players for the most goals scored thus far and tied for 19th in goals per game at 3.5 per. Libby Rowe paces the assist totals while standing tied for 34th in the country with 11 assists in six games to highlight a plethora of top national statistics for the squad on both sides of the field.
The Stags currently leads the nation in caused turnovers per game, forcing an average of 13.33 per contest, nearly more than the next-highest clip from Yale at 12.4/per game. They also sit near the top of the tables at 13th in the country with 16.33 draw controls per game while slotting 29th in the nation in draw control percentage at .563.
Defensively, Lindsey Barnes leads the team with 16 caused turnovers, including a career-high eight in the meeting with the Great Danes, and sits fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game at 2.83/per game. Rylee Harrell tops the draw totals for the Stags and is another player atop the national rankings, slotting 21st in the nation at 6.17 draw controls per game.
LOOKING BACK ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's contest will mark the first-ever time Fairfield and Drexel will face one another.
SCOUTING THE DREXEL DRAGONS
Also at 4-2 this season, Drexel comes into Saturday in seek of its third straight victory as well having defeated No. 16 Johns Hopkins a week ago 16-11. This weekend will mark the end of non-conference play for the Dragons who will begin Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play next Saturday at Towson, after hosting their four most recent opponents.
Drexel has scored 78 goals this season while holding opponents to just 55 on a .377 shot percentage and looks to be a threat on both sides of the field as well, outlasting their opponents in most major statistical categories. Four players have scored 10 or more goals led by 28 points from Corinne Bednarik with 17 goals and 11 helpers. Bridget Finlay sits second with 16 goals and four assists.
CONFERENCE SUPERLATIVES
After a stellar performance in a pair of games, Fairfield University women's lacrosse senior Lindsey Barnes was named the MAAC defensive player of the week as announced by the league office last month. The award for the Malvern, Pa. native marks the first of her career as the first Stag to claim a women's lacrosse weekly honor this season, just three weeks into the campaign.
Barnes was a force on defense for the Stags, causing a career-high eight turnovers by UAlbany players, the most by any player in a Division I game this season. She also collected six ground balls in the road performance against the Great Danes, before causing two turnovers and collecting a single draw control in the win over Hofstra.
SURPASSING THE CENTURY MARK
Three members of the Stags' offense have surpassed 100 goals for their career during the 2023 campaign with the newest member of the club, Elizabeth Talluto adding her name to the group as part of her 21-goal total coming into this weekend. Back in the first road game of the year at UConn, Libby Rowe joined the Fairfield women's lacrosse 100-point list for her career after a career-high six-goal performance against the Huskies. In addition to Rowe's achievement, classmate Ellie Grefenstette eclipsed the century point plateau herself at UAlbany, registering multiple points in the contest.
PRESEASON PRIZES
Given their dominance, particularly in the MAAC postseason, it's no surprise that the Stags were once again picked as the favorites to win the conference championship 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 was Talluto, as well as LaVista, and 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 slotted Niagara which 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 Fairfield 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 debuted with three of its first five contests at home and will now spend the entirety of the month of March on the road, with four matches on the docket, 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
After Saturday, Fairfield women's lacrosse will venture back to the Nutmeg State to put a bow on the non-conference calendar as they head across town to take on Sacred Heart. Opening draw from SHU is slated for 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 15.
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