FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse turned in its strongest defensive performance of the young 2026 season, limiting visiting Boston University to just five goals in a 9-5 triumph on Saturday afternoon on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Haley Burns filled out her statsheet for the Stags with a career-high four goals along with four ground balls and five caused turnovers.
 
With the win, the Stags finish off their season-opening, three-game homestand at 2-1. Boston University also stands at 2-1 after today's outing. The Terriers netted a total of 37 goals in their prior wins over New Hampshire and Stonehill before being stifled to the tune of just five tallies today.
 
The Fairfield defense limited BU to just one goal in the first half – keeping the Terriers off the board until the final five seconds of the half – as the offense built a 5-0 lead that in never relinquished en route to the 9-5 win.
 
"Our defense did an exceptional job as a unit," said Head Coach Laura Field. "We had some players make great plays with timely interceptions, and I think it's a testament to the fact that we can take risks because we know that we have people behind us backing us up. That's really good to see."
 
In addition to the five caused turnovers for Burns, Sophia Colasacco had four caused turnovers and three ground balls as the Stags pressured the Terriers into 18 total turnovers on the day.
 
Whitney Robinson protected the Fairfield cage and made six saves with five goals allowed.
 
Offensively, Burns' four goals were buoyed by two goals and on assist apiece from Kelly Haggerty and Mary Henry. Paige Gardner added one goal for the Stags, with Sara MacLeod dishing out two assists – the first points of her Fairfield career – and Tessa Caputo distributed one helper.
 
In the midfield, the Stags earned a 9-6 advantage on the draw. Brynn Donnelly won five, Lila Berkery snagged three, and Burns had one.
 
Four of the Terriers' five goals were scored by Elle Stevenson. Izabella Amonte also rattled the cage for the visitors, and Avery Cutair doled out three assists.
 
Four different goal scorers contributed to a four-goal first quarter for the Stags as Gardner, Henry, Haggerty, and Burns each chipped in an early marker. Burns started the second quarter scoring with a goal at 13:38 to stake the hosts to a 5-0 lead, which is where the tally remained until the closing seconds, when Stevenson ended the shutout bid and send the Stags and Terriers into the locker room with Fairfield on top 5-1.
 
BU stayed in striking distance with a 3-1 third quarter – with Burns supplying the Fairfield tally – but the Stags netted the first three of the fourth quarter to rebuild a comfortable margin and ice an eventual 9-5 final.
 
"I think we start to feel that momentum shift like we did in the third quarter, we've got to play a little bit looser instead of tightening up and worrying about what might happen," said Field. "What I'm telling the team really is you got to go out there and just do your thing. We're building chemistry. We should have confidence. Can we trust each other to kind of create separation? I think I want to see our response to runs step up a little bit, but this was certainly a step forward from Wednesday." 
 
Up next, the Stags hit the road for the first time in 2026 for a Saturday, Feb. 21 visit from Hofstra. Opening draw on the Island is slated for noon.