In a battle of MAAC unbeatens, Fairfield ended the game on an 8-1 run to earn a 12-8 victory against the Canisius College women's lacrosse team on Sunday afternoon. The loss ends the Griffs' school-record eight-game winning streak as the team drops to 9-4 on the season and 3-1 in MAAC play, while the Stags improve to 10-4 and 4-0 against conference foes.
"It was a battle of two good teams today and the team that made the fewer mistakes came out with the victory," said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. "On the bright side, I thought Lindsey Morgan had an outstanding game for us. We need to stick to our systems for the entire 60 minutes and we will be more successful. We had an opportunity to put the game out of reach and we let them back into it."
Senior Carly Quinn led the Griffs with four points on the afternoon, scoring one goal and adding three assists, while junior Megan Oosting netted a team-best three goals. Senior Taylor Gray and sophomore Lindsey Morgan both chipped in two goals in the defeat.
Senior goaltender Allison Daley led the Canisius defensive unit in the contest, recording 10 saves.
The Stags started the contest strong, scoring three of the first four goals in the game to grab an early two-goal lead less than nine minutes in. The Canisius defense clamped down from there, holding Fairfield scoreless for more than 17 minutes. Oosting then sent the game into the intermission tied at four after scoring with just four seconds left on the clock.
The Griffs then continued their strong play early in the second half. Gray scored a pair of goals 58 seconds apart and Quinn quickly followed as Canisius claimed a 7-4 lead with 25:44 remaining in the game.
Fairfield, however, would control the possession for most of the remaining 25 minutes. The Stags won the final nine draw controls and was able to take advantage with the 8-1 run to close out the 12-8 victory.
The Stags outshot the Griffs, 29-17, for the game and held a 15-7 advantage in the second half. Fairfield also won the battle in the draw circle, 14-6, thanks to an 11-2 edge in the second stanza. Amanda Best and Melanie Raso led the Stags with three goals on the afternoon, while Katie Keenan recorded eight saves to earn the victory in goal.
Canisius looks to return to its winning ways with a game against conference rival Siena next Sunday. First draw at the Demske Sports Complex is set for 11 a.m.
