Women's Lacrosse Tripped by No. 25 Fairfield

Box Score No. 25 Fairfield outscored Canisius by an 11-2 margin in the second half to cruise to a 19-8 victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's lacrosse action Saturday at Rafferty Stadium in Fairfield, Conn.

The Stags improved their record to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in MAAC play with their ninth consecutive win while the Golden Griffins saw their record move to 8-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Elizabeth Talluto paced the Stags with five goals while Libby Rowe tallied a hat trick and won five draw controls. Sarah Butcher provided a game-high three assists for Fairfield. Julia Rigolizzo led the Stags defense with four ground balls and in net, Claire Morris earned the win with two saves across 46:22 of action.

Sophomore Meg Hiltz paced Canisius with a team-high three goals and three ground balls. Graduate student Paige Stachura tallied a team-high two assists and along with senior Jill Galanti, caused a team-high three turnovers. In net, Jody Chu was charged with the loss after making six saves across three quarters of action.

Canisius raced out to a 3-1 lead with 5:08 left in the first quarter before the Stags came alive to end the opening stanza, outscoring the Griffs, 3-1, over the remainder of the way to head to the second quarter knotted at 4-4.

Fairfield sustained its offensive surge to begin the second stanza, scoring the first three goals of the frame to expand its lead to 7-4 with 6:08 left. Canisius was able to gain some ground back as it scored two of the final three goals of the frame, with Hiltz completing her hat trick in the process, to head to halftime down two, 8-6.

Out of the halftime break, the Stags took control of the game for good, expanding their lead to as much as 13 to complete the win.

POSTGAME COMMENTS:
"We had a strong first half followed by an extremely frustrating second. I believe we are much better than what we showed in that game and we will work very hard in practice before the Mount game so we can go out and prove that."

GAME NOTES:
• Today marked the Griffs first game against a ranked opponent since the faced No. 5 North Carolina on April 15, 2018, at the Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y. It also was the program's the first game against a ranked opponent from the MAAC.
• Canisius is now 12-21 all-time against Fairfield with the series dating back to the 1999 season
• With her lone goal today, Stachura now needs two goals to pass Jen Reninger for ninth all-time in career goals with 126.
• Hiltz's three goals represent her first hat trick of the 2024 campaign. Two of her three goals also came off free-position shots.
• Freshman Olivia Licardi appeared in her first game since March 2 against Detroit Mercy. The Morristown, N.J., native played the entire fourth quarter
• Each team was nearly perfect on clears with Canisius going 17-of-19 and Fairfield going 19-of-22. In the first half, each team was perfect on clears as the Griffs went 10-for-10 and Fairfield 7-for-7.

UP NEXT:
Canisius returns home April 3 to face Mount St. Mary's. Opening draw is set for 4 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN+

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Players Mentioned

#29 Jill Galanti: D; 5' 3"; Junior

#28 Paige Stachura: M; 5' 7"; Senior

#9 Meg Hiltz: A; 5' 7"; Freshman

#1 Jody Chu: GK; 5' 3"; Freshman

#30 Olivia Licardi: GK; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#29 Jill Galanti
: 5' 3"; Junior
: D

#28 Paige Stachura
: 5' 7"; Senior
: M

#9 Meg Hiltz
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: A

#1 Jody Chu
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: GK

#30 Olivia Licardi
: Freshman
: GK