POUGHKEEPSIE, New York - The Marist women's lacrosse team (9-8, 5-3 MAAC) has earned the third seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships and will host no. 6 Quinnipiac (4-12, 3-5 MAAC) in a first round matchup April 29. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. in Tenney Stadium.
Tickets are available on the MAAC website through TicketLeap and are $10 for adults and $5 for students and children.
Saturday's postseason game will be streamed on MAAC.tv for paid subscribers and complimentary live stats will be provided.
Last Time Out
The Red Foxes closed out the regular season with a 19-6 victory over Siena on April 26 in Tenney Stadium. With its third straight win, Marist clinched a host seed in the postseason and was officially awarded the no. 3 spot when Niagara lost to Canisius.
Marist's 19 goals Wednesday were a season high and five of them came from sophomore Hailey Wagner. Wagner won 11 draw controls to extend the program's single-season record to 106. Three more Red Foxes netted hat tricks, as freshman Samantha Mehalick, sophomore Caroline Polymeros, and senior Natalie Bonaroti scored three goals apiece.
Regular Season Meeting
Marist took down Quinnipiac for its first home win of this season, a 10-4 victory April 8. The four goals allowed were the fewest by the Red Foxes' defense all year and Marist held a 32-21 advantage in ground balls. Marist also dominated in draw controls 13-3.
Individually, senior Olivia Pitonzo put up three goals and an assist and scooped up four ground balls while Wagner won 10 draw controls and caused a pair of turnovers.
Players To Watch
Senior Abigail Witczak has put herself among the top goalies in the nation and in program history. She is in the top 10 in the country in saves (195; second), saves per game (11.47; fifth) and save percentage (.510; ninth), and leads the conference in all three categories. Her 39 career wins are the most by a Red Foxes goalie.
Wagner is first in the MAAC and eighth in the nation averaging 6.24 draw controls per game. She is the only player in the MAAC to collect both an Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week award this year.
Scouting No. 6 Quinnipiac
The Bobcats will make their first MAAC Championship appearance Saturday. They clinched a postseason berth for the first time since joining the conference in 2014 by defeating Siena, 11-10, at home April 19. The victory was Quinnipiac's third by one goal in MAAC competition this year.
Quinnipiac concluded its regular season with a 21-16 loss to Niagara on April 23. Senior Alex Hlesciak has paced the offense with 30 goals this season, including five that came against the Purple Eagles. Junior goalie Kyle Larkin made 20 saves against the Red Foxes in the regular season meeting. She is second in the MAAC in saves per game, averaging 10.94 and trailing only Witczak.
Up Next
With a first round win against Quinnipiac, Marist would advance to the MAAC Championship semifinals in Buffalo, New York, on the Canisius College campus. The Red Foxes would play no. 2 Fairfield at either 4 or 8 p.m. Friday, May 5.
The MAAC Championship final will be held at 12 p.m. May 7.
