QU Women's Lacrosse Heads to Instate Foe Fairfield on Wednesday

Wednesday, April 20

Rafferty Stadium - Fairfield, CT

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Fairfield

Tickets

QU Women's Lacrosse Heads to Instate Foe Fairfield on Wednesday

4/18/2016 2:25:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac Bobcats (2-12, 0-6 MAAC) at
Fairfield Stags (6-7, 2-3 MAAC)
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 – 3:00 PM
Rafferty Stadium – Fairfield, CT
All-Time Series vs. Fairfield: FFD 6-0

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Live Stats: FairfieldStags.com
Live Video: FairfieldStags.com
Twitter: @QU_WLAX

The Quinnipiac women's lacrosse team heads to Fairfield for a midweek showdown as the Bobcats look to wrap up the 2016 campaign with two wins in the final week of the season. The Bobcats come in looking for their first all-time win against the Stags who're in the fight for one of the final spots in the MAAC Tournament.

SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield (6-7, 2-3 MAAC) has struggled coming out of the gates to start conference play which is surprising considering the Stags rolled to the 2015 MAAC Championship including a win over the four-time defending conference champs Canisius on the road. With three losses to the top three teams in the MAAC already this season, Fairfield looks to make the most of their final three games which all come against the bottom teams in the conference standings (Quinnipiac, Manhattan and Niagara). Fairfield takes care of the ball on offense as the Stags come in with the fewest turnovers per game (12.62) of any team in the conference (15^th NCAA) while they also sit first in the MAAC in free position percentage (.485). The Stags' leading goal scorer Riley Hellstein (32 goals) leads the MAAC and ranks ninth in the nation in free position goals per game (0.91) while also sitting second in the conference in free position percentage (.588). In comparison to the last few opponents that the Bobcats have taken on (Iona and Marist), the Stags employ a very well balanced offense that includes five players with at least 24 points while three have at least 34 points on the season. Hellstein (32-5-37) leads the way while Julieanna Mascera (28-6-34) and Alex Fehmel (23-11-34) each check in with 34 points apiece. Both Colleen Reynolds (43) and Hellstein (39) factor heavily for Fairfield in draw controls as they lead the team by considerable margins. In goal, Fairfield will feature Chelsey Sidaras who comes in with a 10.79 goals-against average, .398 save percentage and record of 6-7 while having played all but 7:54 possible minutes for the Stags in the cage.

SERIES HISTORY
This instate matchup has been entirely one-sided as Fairfield comes in with a 6-0 overall record against the Bobcats in the series history. Their first meeting as conference foes in 2014 ended with an 18-7 Fairfield victory while last year's contest was won by the Stags, 18-3. The closest decision in the all-time matchup came in the first all-time meeting on March 11, 2010 as the Stags won 14-12 in Hamden.

POWER OUTAGE
Going up against two of the three most lethal scorers in the conference – Mary Kate McCormick and Erin Pugh – the Bobcats made it difficult all afternoon on the dominant talents for Iona (4/13) as McCormick finished with just two points (season-low) while Pugh tallied four goals but only had two before the final five minutes of play. McCormick came in ranking as the MAAC's leading scorer with 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) and 4.75 points per game (12^th NCAA) heading into play but the face guarding defense from Leah Walter frustrated the Gaels' top scorer all afternoon as she only landed a free position tally and one assist on the day. McCormick's average of 2.75 assists per game heading into the day ranked third in the nation as her one assist is a season-low.

STREAKING
Kathleen DeVito has been the guiding force behind the Bobcats' offensive attack throughout the majority of the season. She saw the second-longest point streak of her career (eight games) end at Monmouth. In the point streak, DeVito recorded a team-high 18 points (7-11-18) while she currently leads the team with 23 points (10-13-23) on the season. DeVito has also tallied two goals in three of the last seven games to move her career total to 18 multi-goal games in her four years as a Bobcat.

ANTONACCI'S APPLES
After not seeing any game time as a freshman in 2015, sophomore Loren Antonacci has stepped into a large role as the Bobcats' main distributor and has exceled over the last five games. Stepping into the starting lineup seven games ago, Antonacci has tallied 11 points (4-7-10) over the last six games alone to hold the team-lead in that department. Antonacci picked up three assists, the most by any Bobcat this season, against CCSU (3/30) and tallied her first career multi-goal at Monmouth (4/9).

LARKIN LEADING THE WAY
The vastly improved play of Kyle Larkin in the cage has played a big role in the Bobcats' defensive dominance this season, highlighted by a career-high 14 save effort (10 in first half alone) at Siena (4/6). In the past 13 games, Larkin has posted double digit save totals in seven-of-13 in the stretch. Larkin's cumulative totals of 120 saves (9.2 per game), .456 save percentage and 10.90 GAA in the last 13 games (786:48 minutes played) has helped lead the way in a turnaround inspired on the defensive end.

KEEP TRYING TO GET ONE PAST KYLE
The recent 13-game turnaround has seen Kyle Larkin rise up the national rankings as she now sits 14^th in the nation in saves per game (9.21) and 11^th in total saves (129) while also ranking 38^h in ground balls per game (2.69) and 49^th in save percentage (.440).

AT THE TOP OF HER CRAFT
Kiera Kelly has seen an immediate rise in her production through 14 games in 2016. Having compiled 48 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers, Kelly currently leads the MAAC caused turnovers and ground balls per game. Kelly also stands seventh in the nation in ground balls per game (3.54) and tied for ninth in caused turnover per game (2.54).

FRESH FACES
Quinnipiac's freshmen class has factored heavily in the Bobcats' scoring throughout the season as Allison Kuhn (14-6-20), Cara O'Meally (7-0-7), Ellie Swenson (3-2-5), Aubrey Conti (2-1-3), and Alexa Paul (1-0-1) have accounted for 36 of the Bobcats' 108 total points (33.3 percent) through 14 games in 2016. In terms of just goal scoring, 28 of the Bobcats' 73 goals (38.4 percent) have been scored by Quinnipiac freshmen this season.

SENIOR CENTER
After notching just three combined goals in the first three games of 2016, the Bobcats' senior tandem of Aileen Carey (19-0-19) and Kathleen DeVito (8-13-21) have combined for 40 points in the last 11 games as the two have combined to either score or assist on 32 of the 62 total goals scored (51.6 percent) for the Bobcats.

CAREY-ING THE OFFENSE
Aileen Carey's career-high five-game goal scoring streak was snapped at Niagara (3/26). The senior midfielder was also riding a four-game multi-goal scoring streak. She still managed to restart her scoring touch against CCSU (3/30) as she picked up two goals while adding four ground balls (tied career-high) and four draw controls and four caused turnovers (career-high). She leads the team with 19 goals in 2016 which already stands as a single-season career high. Coming into her senior season with just three career hat tricks, Carey has already posted three hat tricks in 13 games this season.

OFFENSIVE POWER OUTAGE
Facing two of the most lethal scorers in the conference in Taylor Giglio (21-10-31) and Erica Evans (21-5-26; Preseason MAAC Player of the Year), the Bobcats designed and executed their defensive game plan perfectly as the two top scorers for the Golden Griffins (4/2) were held to just one combined point (Giglio assist) on the day which easily stands as the lowest combined total for the pairing all season. The sophomore midfielder Evans was held scoreless in a game for the first time in her career.

SPEEDY STREAK
Quinnipiac mounted a furious second half comeback against CCSU (3/30) as the Bobcats put together a 6-0 run over a matter of 8:35. The six straight goals in that time span marks the fastest six-goal run for the Bobcats since April 9, 2014 when Quinnipiac tallied a 6-0 run over a span of 4:42 at Iona (28 games ago).

ALEX IS EVERYWHERE
Alex Hlesciak put together the best game of her three-year career against CCSU (3/30) as she tallied a career-high three points (two goals, one assist) while she also notched her fourth career multi-goal game. Hlesciak wasn't done on the offensive end as she also chipped in a career-high four ground balls to go along with five draw controls (one off career-high). Ever since moving into the starting lineup four games ago, Hlesciak has tallied four points (three goals, one assist) with 17 draw controls.

GOING BACK-TO-BACK
After not seeing a Bobcat win an individual MAAC weekly award in the first two full seasons since joining the conference in 2014, Quinnipiac's sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Larkin has picked up back-to-back MAAC Defensive Player of the Week awards. Over those two weeks, no goalkeeper in the MAAC was hotter as Larkin as she allowed nine goals (4.50 GAA) and posted 19 saves (.679 save percentage) in picking up two straight wins for the Bobcats. In a meeting against UMass Lowell, Larkin allowed a career-low four goals in a 7-4 win while tallying eight saves on 12 shots (.667 save percentage).

SHUTOUT STREAK
The first goal for UMass Lowell (3/12) which came with 27:32 remaining in the second half broke up the Bobcats' scoreless streak which spanned the course of the two games. Quinnipiac held Army West Point (3/5) scoreless for the final 17:56 of play in a 6-5 win and held UMass Lowell without a goal for 32:28 of play in a 7-4 win. Quinnipiac's scoreless streak lasted a total of 50:24 as Larkin made 10 straight saves in that time frame.

DEFENSIVE DYNAMOS
Heading up a lockdown defensive effort against UMass Lowell (3/12) was the tandem of Leah Walter and Kiera Kelly. The two leading shutdown defenders for the Bobcats contributed in big ways as Walter tied her career-high in ground balls (five) and caused turnovers (three) while Kelly snagged four ground balls and tied her career-high with four caused turnovers. The pairing combined to hold the top three River Hawk scorers entering the game to no points throughout 60 minutes of action. This was one game following a total shutdown of Army West Point's leading scorer Amy Johnston, holding her without any points in the one-goal win.

DEFENSE FIRST
Quinnipiac has predicated themselves on the defensive end all season and their stellar efforts protecting their cage has played a large role during the two-game winning streak. The hot streak started in a 6-5 win over Army West Point (3/5) as the 11 combined goals represents the lowest combined score total in a Quinnipiac victory since the Bobcats defeated Robert Morris by the identical score on the road back on April 7, 2012. Most recently, Quinnipiac's 7-4 win over UMass Lowell (3/12) saw Quinnipiac allow their fewest goals to an opponent in a single game since an 8-4 win over Monmouth back on April 23, 2010 (86 games ago).

FORTUNATO'S FIRST WIN
A defensive-minded midfielder in her four years as a player for Quinnipiac (2004-08), first-year head coach Brittany Fortunato's first career victory was very reminiscent of her playing style. The 11 combined goals in the 6-5 victory over Army West Point (3/5) represents the lowest combined score total in a Quinnipiac victory since the Bobcats defeated Robert Morris on the road by the identical score back on April 7, 2012.

FRESH FACE
Among the many freshmen to shine on the day against Binghamton (2/27) included Allison Kuhn who posted a team-leading four-point day (three goals, one assist) as she either scored or assisted on more than half of the goals scored for Quinnipiac on the day. She also becomes the first Quinnipiac freshman to tally at least four points in a game since Maria Blois tallied four points (one goal, three assists) back on April 19, 2013. Kuhn also added a game and personal-high four draw controls.

FINDING THEIR IDENTITY
Coming off a disappointing 21-0 loss in the 2016 season opener, Quinnipiac certainly found their defensive identity in the second half at Yale (2/24) as the Bulldogs scored just three of their 11 goals in the final 30 minutes of play. The 11-goal total for the Bulldogs also easily stands as the fewest allowed by Quinnipiac in the series history as the previous fewest came in 2014 when Yale defeated the Bobcats, 15-8.

THAT'S MINE!
Sophomore Kiera Kelly filled the stat sheet with career highs in ground balls (eight) and caused turnovers (four) at Yale (2/24). After becoming the first freshman in program history to lead Quinnipiac in ground balls and caused turnovers last season, Kelly came one ground ball shy of matching the single-game program record (nine) which was compiled by Christy Smallman against Vermont on March 4, 2005.