Lauren Chatnik made 10 second half saves and Rebecca White scored four goals as the Fairfield University women's lacrosse team defeated Canisius College 12-4 on Sunday morning in Buffalo, N.Y.  The victory is the team's 13th in a row and brings the Stags record to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Lacrosse League play.  The Griffs fall to 6-8 on the year and 1-2 in MAAC action.

The win clinches the Stags at least a share of the MAAC regular season title, and the top-seed in the MAAC Tournament, April 25-27 at Iona College.   A Fairfield win over Siena on Sunday at home, or a Marist loss, will give the Stags the league title by themselves.

The Stags defense was the story in this win, after the offense put up 20 or more goals in each to the last three outings, by allowing just four goals to the Griffs.  Chatnik made a season-high 14 saves on the day, while allowing only four goals in the contest.  Fairfield did not allow a second half goal, despite 17 Canisius shots in the period.  The Stags out shot the Griffs 30-28 for the game.

White got the Stags offense on the board 40 seconds into the game, putting home a pass from Abbey Goodwin.  The Griffs knotted the score at 22:30, but the tie was short lived as eight-seconds later Erin Rigby scored an unassisted goal.  The Griffs again tied the score, 2-2, with 21:51 left in the first half, however Fairfield would take control of the game from that point forward.

Kelly Barnes put the Stags ahead for good at 21:10, scoring a pass from Kylee Martin.  Cristin Lucena extended the lead to 4-2 just over three minutes later with an unassisted tally.  Kristen Coleman put home a free position goal with 14:32 remaining in the half to push the Stags lead to 5-2, which would become the game-winning goal.  Lauren Walsh scored for the Griffs at 10:42 to snap the Stags streak, but White and Kim Fuchs answered with goals at 8:01 and 4:25 to give Fairfield a 7-3 lead.  The Griffs cut the deficit to three goals, 7-4 with 1:36 remaining, however White  scored eight seconds later to put Fairfield back ahead by four goals, 8-4, at the intermission.

The second half offense was all Fairfield, winning the period 4-0, and putting the goals home all in the first 11:22 of the half.  Rigby scored at 26:35, followed by White at 24:30, Coleman at 20:59 and Martin at 19:38.  Neither team scored in the final 19:37 as the Stags rode their defense to the win.

White led the Stags offense with a four-goal effort, as well as winning two draw controls and causing one turnover.  Martin finished with three points, one goal and two assists, as well as two ground balls.  Rigby had a pair of goals, and two draw controls, while Coleman had two goals and two caused turnovers.

Mary Vallely finished the game with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, leading the team in both categories.  Chatnik also had three ground balls and one caused turnover.

Fairfield and Canisius each had 19 ground balls in the win.  The Griffs won 10-18 draw controls for the game, while Fairfield had more turnovers, 23-20 in the contest.

The Stags will complete the regular season with a three-game homestand this week.  Fairfield will host Columbia at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and LeMoyne Friday at 7 p.m. in non-conference action.  The Stags look to complete an undefeated MAAC season on Sunday, hosting Siena at noon on Senior Day.