FAIRFIELD, CT (May 1, 2026) – No. 1 Fairfield University and No. 5 Siena University clinched berths into the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Lacrosse Championship final, after securing semifinal round wins on Friday afternoon on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium in Fairfield, CT. The Stags topped No. 6 Quinnipiac University, while the Saints continued their historic run with an upset win over No. 2 Niagara.
No. 1 Fairfield – 13 | No. 6 Quinnipiac – 9
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | FAIRFIELD, CT
Box Score
In the first semifinal contest of the day, top seeded Fairfield defeated Quinnipiac, 13-9. The first half was nothing short of entertaining as both teams battled back-and-forth to a one-goal game. Trailing 1-0, Fairfield poured in four straight goals to end the opening period with a 4-1 lead. The Bobcats answered in the second quarter, scoring three goals in a 1:15 minute time span – highlighted by a pair of goals eight seconds apart – to tie the meeting at 4-4. The three goal rally was guided by frontend and backend goals by Emma Miller-Ayala. The Stags scored the next two tallies, while the Bobcats added one goal to bring the score to 6-5 in favor of Fairfield at halftime.
The pace slowed down to start the third quarter with both sides exchanging one goal apiece through the first five minutes. The Stags pushed the lead back to three when Kelly Haggerty found the back of the net for the second time in the game (7:40) giving Fairfield a 9-6 advantage. With Fairfield ahead 10-7, back-to-back tallies from Cate Bendowski and Julia Givens brought Quinnipiac within one-goal early in the fourth period. That would be the last score of the day for the Bobcats as the regular season champion Stags would tack on three goals over the final seven plus minutes of the game to pick up the 13-9 win.
Fairfield Notes and Notables
- Tessa Caputo produced five points to lead the Stags, scoring two goals and dishing out three assists.
- Fairfield’s duo of Haggerty and Kyleigh Tufano each recorded hat tricks.
- Haggerty took a team-most 10 shots and was 1-3 in free position shots.
- Also adding two points for the team were Haley Burns (2 goals) and Katie Bergen (1 goal, 1 assist).
- Fairfield outshot Quinnipiac 32-29, with an equal 17 shots on goal.
- The team went 5 for 9 in free position shots.
- The Stags won 13 out of 24 draws in the game and were 18-23 on clears.
- Defensively, Fairfield scooped up 13 ground balls, had 10 caused turnovers, and forced Quinnipiac into 11 total turnovers.
- Brynn Donnelly won a team-high five draw controls.
- Fairfield starting goalkeeper Whitney Robinson made 12 saves in the win.
- The Stags winning streak extended 10 games, with the team’s last defeat coming way back on March 8.
- Fairfield improved to 14-3 overall and a perfect 9-0 against MAAC opposition in 2026.
- Fairfield advances to its ninth consecutive championship title game since 2017 and the Stags will be in pursuit of trophy number 10 on Sunday.
Quinnipiac Notes and Notables
- Bendowski had a hand in seven of the nine total goals for Quinnipiac.
- Bendowski led all scorers with four goals and added a team-high three assists, while going 2-3 in free position shots.
- Miller-Ayala and Givens each scored two goals to follow.
- Leading the team with five won draw controls was Hannah West.
- In net, Shannon Alden made 11 saves in the setback.
- Quinnipiac recorded 29 shots and had 17 on goal.
- The Bobcats went 13-14 on clears, won 11 draw controls, and picked up 13 ground balls.
- The Bobcats season comes to an end with a 10-8 record.
No. 5 Siena – 18 | No. 2 Niagara – 8
Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium | FAIRFIELD, CT
Box Score
The second semifinal game of the day featured an 18-8 upset win for Siena over Niagara. Niagara scored the first two goals of the day and after falling behind 2-0, the Saints put together a dominating performance that would put the game away. The Saints would rally with four unanswered goals over a seven minute timeframe to go ahead 4-2. Then, less than a minute after a Niagara goal in the second period to stop the run, Siena found the back of the net six more times compared to just one goal for the Purple Eagles to end he half ahead 10-4. In total, the Saints had first half runs of 4-0, 7-1, and 10-2.
Siena picked up right where they left off in the third quarter, scoring the first three goals in the period to up its lead to a nine goal margin (13-4). Niagara did not quit, scoring the next three goals to cut the deficit to six points with 2:03 remaining. Both teams added one goal each to produce an even 4-4 third and make it a 14-8 game. In the final quarter, Siena put on a defensive clinic, shutting out Niagara in the final 15 minutes, while adding four insurance goals to cap off the commanding win.
Siena Notes and Notables
- Siena displayed a balanced attack in the one sided victory, having eight different goal scorers and nine total point earners.
- Five players scored at least two goals, with three recording three or more tallies.
- Leading the attack for the Saints was Cassidy Bonura with five goals, shooting a team-leading seven shots and winning four draw controls.
- The duo of Avery Connolly and Hailey Deptula posted hat tricks.
- Sara Curley matched Bonura with five points, contributing a team-high three assists with a pair of goals.
- Olivia Nicholson was the final Saint with two goals in the victory.
- Sydney Hannes won 11 draw controls.
- On the offensive side of the turf, the Saints took 28 shots and had 18 shots on goal while winning 19 draw controls.
- Defensively, Siena had 11 caused turnovers, forced 17 total turnovers and scooped up 12 ground balls.
- MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year, McAllister Salter, made seven saves in the net.
- The 18 goals scored by the Saints were the most in a MAAC postseason game since Monmouth scored 19 goals during the 2022 semis and the 10-goal margin of victory was the highest in a tournament game since 2023 when Fairfield posted a 13-goal victory over Siena in the championship final (17-4).
- As the No. 5 seed, Siena becomes the lowest seed in league history to make the championship final, with the previous low being the No. 4 seed – done five times with Iona in 2025 being the most recent.
- Siena advances to its fourth MAAC Championship title game dating back to 2019 and the program’s fifth total since 2005.
- Siena will look to win the program’s first ever MAAC trophy on Sunday after falling in its previous four finals.
Niagara Notes and Notables
- Niagara recorded 20 shots and 10 shots on goal.
- The Purple Eagles picked up 14 ground balls and won nine draw controls.
- Maddy Gill’s hat trick and three draw controls led the way for Niagara.
- Five other Purple Eagles logged one goal.
- Niagara finished the year 8-9 overall.
The 2026 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship final will be played on Sunday, May 3, with first draw for the trophy at 11:00 a.m. on ESPNU. The finale will mark the second straight year that the MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship will air nationally on ESNPU.
For all information regarding the 2026 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/wlax.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 45th year of competition during the 2025-26 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.
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