Fairfield and Siena to Meet in MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game for the Second Straight Season

5/7/2021 12:59:30 AM

No. 1 Fairfield University – 15 | No. 4 Niagara University – 10
2021 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship – Semifinals
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | Fairfield University
 
Fairfield University (12-1, 10-1 MAAC) won their sixth straight game to advance to the MAAC Championship as they defeated Niagara University (8-5, 7-4 MAAC), 15-10. After finding themselves down by four goals midway through the first half, the Stags offensive came alive as they scored the next five goals of the game to take a 6-5 lead. Fairfield would never trail in the game again as they would go on to score nine of the game’s final 14 goals to earn their championship game berth. Fairfield will host Siena in a rematch of the 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game, a game in which the Stags won in overtime, 10-9. The championship game will take place on Sunday, May 9th at 12:00 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
 
 
Fairfield Notes

• Fairfield will make their fourth straight trip to the MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship game and will be looking to win their third straight title.
• Three Stags registered hat tricks on the day: Maggie Fort, Elizabeth Rowe, and Elizabeth Talluto. Fort and Rowe also had one assist each for four points.
• Ellie Grefenstette tallied two goals on the day and caused one turnover.
• Four other Fairfield players found the back of the net: Kelly Horning, Diana DeVita, Madeline Dent, and Arianna Lavelle. DeVita also registered a game-high three assists.
• Caroline Mangan registered a team-high two caused turnovers.
• In net, Olivia Conquest made seven saves while facing 22 shots.
• Fairfield held a 24-17 advantage in shots and a 17-8 advantage in draw controls.

 
Niagara Notes

• Lois Garlow and Shea Swartwout each registered hat tricks for the Purple Eagles.
• Lexi Baniecki tallied two goals and two assists for four points, tying Garlow (3g, 1a) for the team-high on the day.
• Audry Fithall and Rachel Crane both tallied one goal.
• Jess Foley had a game-high three caused turnovers.
• In net, Michelle Messenger made nine saves while facing 28 shots.
• Niagara held a 14-9 advantage in ground balls.
• Niagara finished with its first winning season since 2004, with their .615 win percentage tying the 2004 team for the second-best win percentage in program history.
• The Purple Eagles set a program record in goals per game (12.08), edging their previous high set in 2003 (12.00).

 
No. 2 Siena College – 20 | No. 3 Monmouth University – 11
2021 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship – Semifinals
Hickey Field | Loudonville, NY
 
No. 2 Siena College (11-2, 9-2 MAAC) defeated No. 3 Monmouth University (8-5, 7-4 MAAC) by a score of 20-11. The Saints found themselves trailing, 5-7, after Monmouth’s Nicole Ceraso scored just past the halfway point of the first half. Siena would go on to score the game’s next five goals to take a 10-7 lead, and they would never lose the lead again. The Saints would score 12 second-half goals to tally a total of 20 on the day, their second straight game of scoring at least 20. With the victory, the Saints advance to the MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game for the second straight time and will take on reigning champion Fairfield University in a rematch of the 2019 MAAC Championship Game. Siena will be looking for their program’s first MAAC Championship, finishing as runner-up in 2005 and 2019.
 
Siena Notes

• Eight players for the Saints found themselves on the score sheet. It is the second straight game in which eight Siena players tallied a point.
• Three Saints tallied hat tricks on the day, Nicole McNeely led the way with five goals, Mary Soures tallied four goals and two assists, and Kaitlyn Dowsett scored three times and recorded four assists for a team-high seven points.
• McNeely also finished the afternoon with a game-high six ground balls.
• Annie Brennan, Laura Bonomo and Kelsey Lane each scored twice for Siena. Brennan also added two assists.
• Kerry Gerety and Hayley Kmack both found the back of the net once. Gerety also tallied three assists.
• In net, Ally Mervine made eight saves while facing 25 shots.
• Siena held advantages in shots on goal (28-19), ground balls (22-17) and draw controls (21-12).

 
Monmouth Notes

• MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Nicole Ceraso was tied for the game-high with seven points, tallying four goals and three assists.
• Allison Turturro recorded four goals on the day to tie with Ceraso for the team-high.
• Three other Hawks, Caroline Bleck, Chloe Novak, Hope Steuerwald, each found the back of the net once.
• Rachel Mills caused a team-high two turnovers.
• Steph Delliturri made eight saves while facing 37 shots on the day.
• Monmouth held a 9-2 advantage on Free-Position Shots.

 

2021 MAAC WOMEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday, April 30	Match-Up	Time	Network
Play-In Game*	No. 8 Marist 11 vs. No. 9 Iona 10	11:00 a.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, May 1
Quarterfinal #1	No. 2 Siena 21 vs. No. 7 Canisius 11	3:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Quarterfinal #2	No. 3 Monmouth 15 vs. No. 6 Manhattan 6	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Quarterfinal #3	No. 1 Fairfield 14 vs. No. 8 Marist 13 (OT)	12:00 p.m.
Quarterfinal #4	No. 4 Niagara 16 vs. No. 5 Quinnipiac 11	1:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Thursday, May 6
Semifinal #1	No. 2 Siena 20 vs. No. 3 Monmouth 11	4:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Semifinal #2	No. 1 Fairfield 15 vs. No. 4 Niagara 10	3:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Sunday, May 9
Championship Game	No. 1 Fairfield vs. No. 2 Siena	12:00 p.m.	ESPN+

The 2021 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship concludes on Sunday, May 9, with the 2021 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game. For more information on the 2021 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, visit MAACSports.com/wlax.

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40^th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.