It was a tale of the undefeated as the Fairfield women’s lacrosse team took on the Marist Red Foxes on Saturday, April 19. Both undefeated in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, the Stags were looking to get their sixth consecutive win not only to keep them at first in the conference, but to also get the victory for the team’s seniors on Senior Day. However, Marist prevailed and defeated the Stags 13-6.
After dominating against Quinnipiac on April 16 18-7, the Stags were ready to take on the Red Foxes who were 5-0 in MAAC play, as were the Stags. But less than two minutes into the game, Marist was already ahead 2-0 on two unassisted goals.
“We came out there and we were a little worried with the pressure,” said Jenna Slowey ‘14. “We need to be able to handle that because everyone is on the field for a reason and we’re all capable of doing that.”
Now behind 3-0 in the game, Slowey was able to net a goal for the team, but Marist quickly fired back, putting them ahead 4-1. As the Stags continued to fight for the lead, Slowey and Jamie Leone ‘15 scored two consecutive goals, tightening Marist’s lead to one. But just two minutes later, with 17 minutes left in the half, Marist netted their own pair of consecutive goals.
Before the end of the half, Slowey scored her third goal of the game, while Marist answered with three more goals before the end of the half. After the first half, Marist led the Stags 9-4, outshooting Fairfield 17-13 and controlling seven of the 12 draws.
In the second half, Fairfield came out strong as Riley Hellstein ‘17 netted the first goal of the half. As Fairfield upped their defense, Marist continued to force their offense on the Stags and scored another two consecutive goals for the team, keeping them ahead 11-5.
Not only did Marist score another set of goals in the first 10 minutes, Fairfield’s Slowey and Lauren Casadonte ‘15 received yellow cards as they attempted to deal with Marist’s intense offensive drive. Senior Melanie Raso made the final shot for the Stags with 12 minutes left in the game. Marist was relentless and scored twice more, making the final score of the game 13-6.
“Marist outplayed us in the hustle. They were just all over the ground balls, all over the 50-50 balls and they just worked better as a team,” said Slowey.
The loss to Marist placed the Stags second in the conference. However, Head Coach Mike Waldvogel added that he hopes the loss will only help better prepare the team for upcoming MAAC play.
“We just weren’t coordinated against a really good team,” said Waldvogel. “We need to get our offense and defense together and we need to get people healthy again.”
Before the MAAC Tournament begins, the Stags are scheduled to play Monmouth University and Canisius College. The team is hoping to get the win against Canisius so that they will stay in second place for the upcoming tournament.
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