FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse opened the home portion of the 2024 season with a milestone victory on Wednesday on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. The Stags defeated #24/24 UConn, 11-9, to mark their first-ever win over an IWLCA nationally-ranked opponent. The victory was also the 92nd at Fairfield for Head Coach Laura Field, tying the program's all-time record.
 
With the win, the Stags improve to 1-1, while UConn begins its campaign at 0-1. After falling to the Huskies in overtime last season in Storrs, Fairfield claims its first win over UConn since 2019 and only the second since 2009.
 
"I'm going to sound cheesy on Valentine's Day, but the difference between today and Saturday's [loss at Holy Cross] was heart. You could see it in our ride, on ground balls, on the bench. Every single player at practice over the last two days raised their game and pushed each other. That was awesome to see," said Field.
 
"UConn's top players were great today, but we weathered that storm, and it took everybody to do it," Field continued. "We had seven different point scorers, Claire Morris was great in the cage, Lindsey Barnes ran the defense in the way that we needed her to, and the entire draw group was exceptional."
 
Leading the balanced scoring effort for Fairfield was Grace Slater with four goals and an assist. Her career-best five point performance was highlighted by a pair of "Air Gait" goals to beat standout UConn goalkeeper Landyn White. Elizabeth Talluto and Amanda Kozak each added two goals for the Stags, with Maggie Fort, Christine Fabrizi and Rylee Harrell all scoring one. Libby Rowe was the game's top facilitator with three assists.
 
Fairfield's 12-6 advantage on the draw was paced by seven draw controls for Harell with Donnelly winning four restarts. Harrell also controlled the midfield to the tune of two caused turnovers and two ground balls.

Barnes headed the defensive effort with three caused turnovers, while Rigolizzo had two as Fairfield pressured UConn into 20 turnovers in total. Claire Morris earned her first win in the Fairfield cage with nine saves.
 
The Stags erased two-goal deficits in both halves, falling behind 2-0 to start the game and then slipping to a 7-5 deficit early in the third quarter. The deciding run was a 5-0 stretch that included back-to-back shorthanded goals for Talluto and Slater as the defense kept UConn off the board for 15:41 of clock time to take a 10-7 lead.
 
The Huskies ended the drought as Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Kate Shaffer cracked the scoring column to cut the margin to 10-8, but Slater answered just 22 seconds later to stake Fairfield to an 11-8 win. Susan Lafountain's goal in the final minute proved inconsequential as a foul of the ensuing draw gave possession to the Stags, who ran out the clock on an 11-9 victory.
 
The 92nd win for Field as head coach pulls her into a tie with her predecessor, Mike Waldvogel. The National Lacrosse Hall of Famer went 92-35 as the head coach of the Stags from 2009-15, with Field serving as assistant coach and later as associate head coach beginning in 2010 until taking the reins of the program in 2016.
 
"Mike always said that it's not the head coach that wins, it's the team that wins," said Field. "I am honored to have worked alongside him and now to be listed alongside him, but my wins are all because of the great kids that we've had in our program and the culture that he built for Fairfield Women's Lacrosse."
 
Lafountain and Rayea Davis accounted for eight of UConn's nine goals, with Shaffer getting the other. White made 13 saves in the cage.
 
Another nationally-ranked foe is on deck for the Stags when #23/23 UAlbany comes to Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 17 for a 1 p.m. clash. The Great Danes are 0-2 with losses to #14 Johns Hopkins and #2 Boston College on their 2024 ledger.