Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Four unanswered goals to start the game had the Rutgers women's lacrosse team in control, but Fairfield buckled down and held the Scarlet Knights off the board on their final possession, hanging on to defeat RU, 11-10, Saturday afternoon in a snow-covered Rafferty Stadium.

The loss was the first of the season for the Scarlet Knights (1-1), who return home to face in-state rival Monmouth on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at High Point Solutions Stadium. Sophomore Kristina Dunphey (Hillsborough, N.J.) scored the first goals of her career in a hat trick day.

"We need to work on our hustle game. I think we got out-hustled to a lot of balls and kudos to Fairfield that they fought for the full 60 minutes," said head coach Laura Brand-Sias. "When things were going our way I think we did a really nice job moving the ball, but once the weather conditions came into play and we needed to really fight and scrap for things, we didn't do a good job of that."

Rutgers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first 14 minutes of action behind two goals from sophomore Amanda Turturro (Farmingdale, N.Y.), a score from junior Kim Kolodny (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and the first of three goals on the day from Dunphey.

The Stags (2-1) answered back before halftime, rattling off five consecutive goals to take the lead, 5-4, with three minutes remaining in the period.

Redshirt senior Lauren Sbrilli (Martinsville, N.J.) revitalized the Scarlet Knight sideline to begin the second half, winning the opening draw control and taking it the distance for an unassisted strike. Sbrilli tallied her second goal of the game two minutes later, when Dunphey found her flashing just outside the crease for the 7-7 equalizer at 27:15.

But Fairfield did not let up, registering back-to-back goals from Scarlett Sulliman and Jamie Leone for a two-goal, 8-6, padding with under 20 minutes to play. Sulliman's goal came off a free position attempt, where the Stags were 4-for-5 in the contest.

Following another goal apiece from RU and Fairfield, the Scarlet Knights moved back within one courtesy of junior Halley Barnes' (Garnet Valley, Pa.) third goal of the season. With 9:02 remaining, Dunphey scored again with a nifty spin move in front for the finish.

Despite the RU resilience, the Stags would again respond, scoring consecutive goals to ice the game. Dunphey secured the hat trick with 1:33 remaining to make it 11-10 before RU won the corresponding draw, but the Scarlet Knights quickly turned it over to the Stags, who held on for the win.

Redshirt senior Erin Turkot (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and senior midfielder Jenny Vlahos (Manhasset, N.Y.) led Rutgers on the draw with two apiece. Turturro paced the Scarlet Knights with two caused turnovers, while junior defender Addington Elliott (Rumson, N.J.) notched a team-high three ground balls.

Senior goalie Candice Dandridge (Cherry Hill, N.J.) recorded six saves in her first loss of the season.

Rutgers welcomes the Monmouth Hawks to Piscataway at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The Scarlet Knights are 11-0 all-time against the intrastate foe.

Game Notes

• Rutgers lost to Fairfield for the first time in series history Saturday and now leads the series, 3-1.

• With the loss, the Scarlet Knights are now 23-1 all-time against MAAC opponents.
• Following the career day, Dunphey assumed the team's points lead with five this season.
• Kolodny, Sbrilli and Turturro each scored two goals in the loss.
• Through two games, Kolodny, Turturro and Vlahos all own four points each.
• Kolodny scored her first free position goal of the year against Fairfield.
• Vlahos' two draw controls bumper her career total to 83. She is 17 shy of becoming the fifth player in program history with more than 100 draw control wins.
• Sbrill led Rutgers with five shots and notched two goals against the Stags. She needs 10 more points to become the 19th player in program history to join the 100-point club.
• It was the second consecutive game Sbrilli led RU in shots.
• Elliott's three ground balls tied her career-high.
• Senior attack Melissa Arthur (Marlton, N.J.) led Rutgers with two assists.

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