WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse (7-4, 7-4 MAAC) team dropped their regular season finale to Fairfield (10-1, 10-1 MAAC), 10-9, on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Hawks took the lead with 7:41 left on Chloe Novak's second goal of the game but Fairfield's Kelly Horning knotted the game up at 9-9 with 3:06 left. With 37 seconds left Meaghan Graham scored her fifth goal of the game to put the Stags up 10-9. Monmouth won the ensuing draw control and called time out to set up the final seconds. Fairfield's defense clamped down on the Hawks who couldn't get a shot to try to tie it.
 
With the win Fairfield clinches the regular season title and will host throughout the 2021 MAAC Tournament. Monmouth, the third seed, will host Manhattan on Saturday at 1 PM.
 
Fairfield got on the board early but the two teams traded goals in the first twenty minutes of the game. Monmouth took its first lead on Carli Mangum's lone goal of the afternoon, 4-3 but it was short lived as Fairfield scored four unanswered goals in a seven-minute span to take a 7-4 lead. Senior Allison Turturro scored her second goal of the game with six seconds remaining to cut Monmouth's halftime deficit to 7-5.
 
Monmouth opened up the second half with three straight goals on the sticks of seniors to take an 8-7 lead with 17:34 left in the half. Stag Meaghan Graham tallied her fourth goal of the afternoon to tie it up 8-8 with 14:06 before Novak gave the Hawks the lead. Stag Kelly Horning knotted the game up at 9-9 with 3:06 remaining, setting up Graham's heroics with 37 seconds left.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"Today was a very tough game for us. I'm extremely proud of our defense for the way they played, the way they battled all game. I feel we have some very strong pieces in place going into the post season and we are ready to make our move." – Monmouth Interim Head Coach Christie Kaestner
 
"I'm extraordinarily proud of our nine seniors for the body of work they have put in over the years. They've rewritten the record books and shown what it takes to succeed at this high level. We are so excited to see whats next for them and cannot wait to start this post season journey with them at the helm." Kaestner on Monmouth's nine seniors

• The Hawks were led by senior Allison Turturro's three goals. Turturro now has 147 career goals which is sixth all-time at Monmouth
• The Monmouth defense allowed just three goals in the final 30 minutes of play
• Seniors Sarah Gillogly and Chloe Novak each had two goals in the contest
• Sophomore defender Brianna Falco came off the bench and had a team-leading five ground balls and three caused turnovers
• Shannon Feeley had four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers as well for MU
• It was the final regular season game for a group of fifth-year seniors who have won 23 regular season conference games in four years 

NUMBERS CRUNCH

• The Stags were 4-of-6 on free position shots while Monmouth was 2-of-6
• The Hawks won 13 of 21 draw controls, led by Gina Verrone's seven
• Monmouth held a 27-22 advantage in shots
• Fairfield goalie Olivia Conquest had 10 saves in the contest 

UP NEXT
Monmouth will host Manhattan on Saturday at 1 PM. The game will air on ESPN+