EMMITSBURG, Md. – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse will play in the MAAC Championship Game for the eighth consecutive season after a 16-12 win over Siena in Friday's semifinal round. Amanda Kozak had eight points to lead the second-seeded Stags over the third-seeded Saints.
 
With the win, Fairfield improves to 10-7 overall. The Stags will play fourth-seeded Iona, which upset the top-seeded Mount in the day's first semifinal, for the MAAC Championship on Sunday at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. The Stags and Gaels did not meet in the regular season.
 
 Siena ends its campaign at an even 9-9.
 
"I'm so proud of this team and how they responded to a long layoff. We just played great team lacrosse," said Head Coach Laura Field. "We had assists on 11 of our 12 goals other than free positions, some unsung heroes like Katherine Shammas and Macey Daly, and Brynn Donnelly and the draw unit continue to be game changers. When we do all of that in one game, it puts us in a great position to be successful."
 
Fairfield has won eight MAAC Championships and made eight NCAA postseason appearances, including an historic at-large bid in 2024. The Stags also earned their 16th MAAC Regular Season Championship this spring, tying for first place with a 7-1 league tally.
 
Field has been at the helm of the Stags for five MAAC Championships and six NCAA postseason appearances, in addition to two as an assistant on the staff of her predecessor, Mike Waldvogel.
 
Kozak – the 2025 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year – had five goals and three assists to run her team-leading count to 65 points this season. Kelly Haggerty and Grace Slater each added a hat trick to the cause, boasting their totals to 43 and 42 goals, respectively.
 
Brooke Marotti added a four-point day with two goals and two assists, and the Stags got one goal apiece from Tessa Caputo, Haley Burns and Kyleigh Tufano. Caputo was also Fairfield's top facilitator with five assists. Kit Zanelli capped the attack with one assist.

The Stags' offense kept rolling with an 18-13 advantage on the draw. Brynn Donnelly hauled in eight to improve her Fairfield single-season record to 137. Haley Burns chipped in with five draw controls.
 
On the defensive end, Daly led the way with three caused turnovers. Burns had two caused turnovers and two grounders from the defensive midfield, and Grace Kiernan also scooped a pair. Keira Furey earned the win in the cage with seven saves and four ground balls.
 
The Stags started the scoring just 34 seconds in, with Kozak finishing a feed from Marotti. The Saints responded with three consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead before Fairfield answered as Marotti served as facilitator once again. This time, the senior found Haggerty for her 41st goal of the campaign, capping the first quarter scoring with Siena in front, 3-2.
 
The equalizer came less than a minute into the second quarter with MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Kozak delivering once again to tie the game at 3-3, and the Stags surged in front on consecutive tallies for Haggerty, Tufano and Marotti – all assisted by Caputo.
 
The run reached seven in a row on goals for Slater and Kozak as the Fairfield defense kept Siena off the board for a span of 18:24 before a Kelly Logue marker ended the drought and pushed the margin to 8-4 in favor of the Stags. Keira Furey made four saves during the Fairfield run, pushing aside a pair of free position attempts in the stretch.
 
After Siena added another tally in the period, Donnelly won her sixth draw of the half to earn the final possession. Fairfield let the clock tick down before making a move and was rewarded for their patience as Kozak connected with Caputo for a goal with just 1.5 seconds to play, sending the Stags into the break holding a 9-5 lead.
 
The Saints were the aggressors coming out of the intermission with two goals in the opening three minutes. The Fairfield response came from the 8-meter arc, where Marotti beat the Siena keeper to extend the lead back to 10-7. After another pair for the Saints, the Stags' answered via the free position shot with Kozak and Haggerty increasing the cushion to 12-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The 8-meter attack continued into the final frame with Slater capitalizing on a Siena green card just 30 seconds into the period. The run grew to six in a row with goals from Burns, Kozak and Slater increasing the Fairfield advantage to 16-9 as the clock crept under eight minutes to play.
 
Siena made a strong final push with three goals down the stretch before the Stags ran out the clock on the 16-12 win and a trip to Sunday's MAAC Championship Game.
 
Opening draw between Fairfield and Iona at the Mount's Waldron Family Stadium is slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. on ESPNU.