Fairfield, Marist Advance to Women's Lacrosse Championship Game
MAAC Sports
New Rochelle, NY ? Top seeded Fairfield University and second seeded Marist College picked up semifinal victories to advance to the 2008 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship game. The two teams will face off on Sunday at noon on the campus of Iona College in New Rochelle, New York.
Fairfield will be making its first appearance in the championship game since 2002. The Stags have won one MAAC Championship, an 8-5 overtime decision over Niagara in 2001. Marist is making its second consecutive and third overall appearance in the championship game. The Red Foxes lost 14-13 in overtime in the final a year ago.
Marist defeated Canisius College 15-10 in the first game of the day. Ali Carnabuci led the Red Foxes with six points on four goals and two assists. Cristin Begley and Lindsey Diener added four points apiece. Marist senior goalkeeper Liz Burkhard was fantastic in goal, making 17 saves in the win. For Canisius, Ashley Gray, Emily McGuire, and Lauren Walsh each had three points.
In the day’s second game, Fairfield came from behind to defeat Iona College 11-8. The Gaels went up 7-6 with 23:38 to play on a Jaclyn O’Leary goal. The Stags outscored Iona 5-1 over the remainder of the game to pull out the victory. Freshman Kristen Coleman finished the game with six points, including five goals, to lead all scorers. Senior Erin Rigby had three goals.
Fairfield defeated Marist 11-10 in overtime on March 29th in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Stags are now 17-1 on the year, while the Red Foxes improve to 9-8.