LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's lacrosse team fell behind early before fighting back, but ultimately falling to 23^rd-ranked Fairfield Wednesday afternoon. The Broncs even their record on the season at 8-8 overall and 2-6 in league games. The Stags improve to 14-1 on the year and 8-0 in MAAC contests.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the first, Rider saw Emily Wesoky (Sterling, VA/Dominion[Wagner]) find Selena Carrington (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North[Rutgers]), who found the back of the net to tie the score. The Stags then got on a roll, scoring five-straight goals before Wesoky earned and converted a free position shot, cutting the Fairfield lead to 6-2 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Stags continued to pull away in the second, scoring five-straight goals to open the frame before Carrington scored on a free position. After Fairfield scored three-straight to extend the advantage to 14-3, Carrington completed the first-half hat trick to make it 14-4 at the half.
 
Rider got to work in the second half, getting goals from Anna Devlin (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City[TCNJ]), Kylee Garcia (Neshanic Station, NJ/Somerville[FDU-Florham]), and Toni Gismondi (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford[VCU]) while the defense held the Stags to a single tally to cut the deficit to 15-7 with 15 minutes to play.
 
Fairfield countered with four-straight goals to begin the fourth, but Rider closed the game with four-straight goals, including the first two career-goals for Annabelle Niebuhr (Frenchtown, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional).
 
Quotes & Notes
"We had 18 dressed players that were able to go against 43. When you get this deep in the season at this level, you need as many people ready to go as possible. You look at teams that have only won one conference game and they're within three goals every game. Our conference is very even across the board, credit to Fairfield, ranked number 23 in the country, but you look at our scores and we're in every game."
 
"We didn't change anything offensively [in the second half], It's more of a mindset of being way more aggressive. We want 50/50 balls, and if we put it in a 50/50 spot, that's when we're going to be successful." – Head Coach Evan Mager
 
"It definitely took us a second, but we did a good job of feeling them out and figuring out how to beat them. What's helped us out is just taking a second to challenge tham and understanding what we had to do to find the openings. At [halftime] there's nothing that can go wrong so it just fired us up to keep going for each other and try to chip away at the deficit." – Junior Midfielder Selena Carrington
 
- Jamie Kubach (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter[FDU-Florham]) made the start in net, making 10 saves, taking the loss.
- Kubach has recorded double-digit saves in four-straight games.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Fairfield outshot Rider 35-21, including a 29-19 edge in shots on goal.
- The Stags held an 18-14 edge in ground balls. Garcia, Marybeth Smith (Macungie, PA/Emmaus[La Salle]), and Cali Schwerdtfeger (Crownsville, MD/Indian Creek[FDU-Florham]) led the Broncs with two each in the game.
- Fairfield won the draw circle 17-16. Carrington led Rider with six. Devlin and Hayley Henderson (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) each added four in the contest.
 
Up Next
- Rider returns to action Sunday when the Broncs close out the regular season at 11 a.m.