FAIRFIELD, CONN. - The Niagara women's lacrosse team (4-11, 1-5 MAAC) finished its season on the short end of an 18-9 decision to the Fairfield Stags (14-2, 6-0 MAAC) at Lessing Field on Sunday morning.

Strong defense and  junior Courtney Formato's (Lancaster, N.Y.) tally kept the Purple Eagles in the game during the first 15 minutes, only trailing the Stags 3-1 at that point.  Fairfield's offense then kicked into high-gear for an 8-1 run and a convincing 11-2 halftime lead. Formato scored both of Niagara's first half goals.

Junior Alison Valerio (Geneva, N.Y.) would score Niagara's third goal early into the second half, with the Stags countering with four straight tallies for a 16-3 lead. Niagara would go on a 6-2 run late in the game, highlighted by Formato notching two more to complete a four-goal game and senior Vanessa Schultz (Clarence, N.Y.) adding two goals.

Niagara finished the 2009 season with its best regular season record since 2006, when it went 6-9 (2-5 MAAC).