FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse begins the seventh NCAA postseason trip in program history on Friday, May 12 with a visit to eighth-seeded and #9 nationally-ranked Loyola. Opening draw from the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
The other side of the bracket will feature #10 Stony Brook and #20 Penn State going head-to-head at 7 p.m. The two advancing teams will meet on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a berth in the NCAA Quarterfinals on the line.
 
FIVE IN A ROW
Fairfield enters the NCAA Championship after securing its fifth straight MAAC Championship crown this past Sunday, rolling past Siena by a 17-4 count. The Stags joined Stony Brook, Florida and Jacksonville as the only Division I programs with an active streak of five or more conference tournament titles.
 
Fairfield is the first team to ever win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in five consecutive seasons. The Stags have won a conference-best eight league tournaments overall since 2000. Fairfield also won the 1999 regular season title, which was the overall MAAC crown prior to the inception of the MAAC Tournament in the following season.
 
IN DOMINANT FASHION
The Stags set a pair of MAAC records on their way to the conference title. Fairfield's 17-4 win over Siena in the finals marked largest margin of victory ever in a MAAC final. The Stags' 11 total goals allowed in the semifinals and finals combined were the fewest in the shot clock era and only two short of the overall record of nine established by the 2001 MAAC Champion Stags.
 
RP-ITEMS
Fairfield's current RPI of 21 is the only MAAC RPI among the NCAA top 40. Fairfield best RPI wins were its pair of victories over Siena (42), while the best non-conference win in terms of RPI was the triumph at reigning America East Champion Vermont (58). The Stags' three non-conference all came on the road at top 25 RPI teams in UConn (12), UAlbany (20) and Drexel (23) -- all three of whom are in the 2023 NCAA postseason field.
 
STAGS VS. GREYHOUNDS
Fairfield and Loyola have met just once before, five years and one day ago in the 2018 NCAA Championship First Round. Despite the two institutions both being members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for nearly 25 years, Loyola Women's Lacrosse competed in the South Atlantic Lacrosse League (1990-91), Colonial Athletic Association (1992-02) and Big East (2006-13) in addition to three seasons an independent from 2003-05. The Greyhounds joined the rest of their athletic department in 2013-14 when Loyola left the MAAC for the Patriot League.
 
AGAINST COMMON OPPONENTS
The lone common opponent of the Stags and Greyhounds was Holy Cross. Fairfield hosted and defeated the Crusaders, 13-10, to open the campaign on Feb. 11, while Loyola rolled to a 20-7 win over HC in Baltimore on April 1.
 
POINTS AT A PREMIUM
Friday's game will feature two of the premier defenses in the nation. Loyola ranks second in the nation with 6.63 goals allowed per contest, while Fairfield slots sixth in the country with 8.39 goals conceded per game.
 
The showdown in Baltimore is one of two matchups of top-10 defenses in the opening round of the bracket. Out in Denver, the unbeaten Pioneers will bring their top-ranked defense at 5.84 goals per game into a meeting with USC, ranked fifth at 7.89 goals per contest allowed.
 
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
Of the 18 Stags to take the field during Fairfield's two-game MAAC Tournament run, only two were starters or regular rotation players in their freshman season. Caroline Mangan started 18 of 19 games in the 2019 MAAC Championship season, and Maggie Fort started all seven games of the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign.
 
THE AWARD HOARD
With Olivia Doody named MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Caroline Mangan selected as MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and Laura Field tabbed as MAAC Coach of the Year, the 2023 Stags are the first team to garner three of the conference's six major individual awards since 2016, when Canisius collected four of the half-dozen honors (Midfielder, co-Defensive, Rookie and Coach). The last MAAC team to win both Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season was also Canisius in 2014..