Siena women fall to Fairfield and earn third seed in MAAC Tournament

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — The matchup between arguably two of the MAAC’s best women’s lacrosse teams in #23 Fairfield and Siena carried a meticulous vibe with each team patiently working the ball into its offensive schemes.

Fairfield slowly built an early four-goal lead about midway through the second quarter before the Siena offense began to find some answers before ultimately losing 11-8 at Hickey Field on Saturday afternoon to snap the Saints’ five-game win streak.

Entering today’s play, Siena (12-5 overall, 7-2 MAAC) had already clinched its fifth consecutive MAAC Tournament berth.

The Saints’ Opening Round opponent for next Sunday, April 28 will be decided after the conclusion of Sunday’s MAAC regular season finales.

Fairfield (15-1, 9-0 MAAC) earned the top overall seed for the MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament and home field advantage for both the Semifinals and potential Championship.

The Stags worked in goals by Libby Rowe and Maggie Fort to take a 2-0 lead with 10:24 left in the opening quarter and was followed by a 15-plus minute scoreless drought by both teams that featured disciplined defense with quick feet and active sticks.

Fairfield added to the lead with goals by Rylee Harrell and Rowe at the 8:45 mark of the second quarter.

Siena would outscore Fairfield 8-7 from that point forward.

But, it wasn’t until 2:29 remaining in the opening half that the Saints got on the board when Jordan Bentley scored on a feed from  Kelly Logue.

Siena freshman Olivia Nicholson fueled much of the Saints’ offense in the second half with three goals, all on assists from Grace Dobrzynski, to keep Siena within striking distance.

But, the Stags’ Fort responded all three times with goals of her own directly following a Nicholson strike to give Fairfield some breathing room.  Fort finished with a game-high four goals.

While Fairfield led 10-5 with 9:16 left, Siena scored three of the game’s next four goals to get within three off goals from Nicholson, Taryn Asselin, and Dobrzynski.

Asselin, a senior, also set the program’s single-season record for most draw controls when she reached 106 during today’s game.

Asselin finished with a team-high seven draw controls and now has 110 for the season.

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