FAIRFIELD, CT – They meet again.
 
Fifth-seeded Siena (11-6) will meet the second-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles (8-8) on Friday at 4 p.m. in the second MAAC Semifinal of the day at Fairfield's Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium for the third time in the past four seasons in the 2026 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Postseason.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with broadcasters Jacob Munch and Brinley Anderson on the call. 
 
Fans can follow along with the corresponding live stats link, while in-game updates will be provided via the women's lacrosse team's official "X" page @SienaWLAX.  
 
Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints and #BigDawgs.
 
The Saints extended its winning streak to five consecutive games with a nail-biting 9-8 victory at No. 4 Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, MD on Sunday in a MAAC First Round match up. The Saints have also defeated conference opponents Sacred Heart, Marist, Iona and Manhattan by a combined score of 64-28 during this stretch. Senior Cass Belsito scored her seventh goal of the season, but delivered the biggest one to date with a big wind up and strike with just 13 seconds remaining to help the Saints advance to the MAAC Semifinal Round for a seventh straight time dating back to 2019 excluding the cancelled Covid season. Elizabeth Wamp also notched her fourth hat trick and sixth of her career in the win while McAllister Salter made 10 saves in net. 
 
Niagara earned a bye in the opening weekend after a 7-1 conference record that included a 10-4 win against Siena at Niagara University back on March 28 under snowy and windy conditions. 

The Purple Eagles lead the all-time series 18-14 against Saints, however, the teams have alternated wins and losses the previous 10 games dating back to 2019 with four of those games decided by just one goal. The teams are 1-1 all-time in postseason match ups with Niagara squeaking out a 9-8 victory in the 2024 MAAC Semis while Siena earned a 13-10 win against Niagara during the 2023 MAAC Semis. In both scenarios, the No. 2 seeded team topped the No. 3 seeded team and the games were played at Rafferty Stadium. 
 
Niagara had four selections on the All-MAAC Teams including major award winner and senior Sydney Huhtala, who was the unanimous MAAC Defensive Player of the Year as well as an All-MAAC First Team selection. Joining her were teammates Maddy Gill as an All-MAAC First Team selection at midfield and Michaela Delles, a sophomore who made the All-MAAC Second Team as an attack choice. Huhtala was the far and away leader in caused turnovers with 55 this season. The next closest player had 35. She ranks fourth in the nation among Division I players with 3.44 caused turnovers per game. Huhtala also led the conference in ground balls with 52 and is ranked eighth in the nation in the category. Delles ranks eighth in the MAAC in goals with 35 and is ranked 10^th in points with 47. Gill, another senior, is somebody who will test defenses as she ranks eighth in the conference in shots with 80. 
 
The Saints had five players named to the All-MAAC Teams with sophomore McAllister Salter earning both the MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year major award as well as All-MAAC First Team honors. Additionally, junior midfielder Elizabeth Wamp and sophomore Faye Gorman were both named to the All-MAAC Second Team while freshman Hailey Deptula was selected as an All-MAAC Rookie Team member. Salter ranks 11^th nationally in goals-against average (8.09), ranks fourth in saves percentage (.449) and sports a 11-5 record as the starting goalkeeper. Wamp ranks second on the team in goals with 28 while Gorman was instrumental in helping Siena be tied for sixth best scoring defense nationally (7.59 goals allowed per game).  Deptula totaled 21 goals and six assists with 11 ground balls and 11 draw controls.
 
Junior attack Olivia Nicholson continues to lead the Saints in goals with 31 and points with 40. Junior Sydney Hannes leads the team in draw controls with 77. 
 
In goal, Haley Terry ranks ninth in goals-against average (12.04), 10th in saves percentage (.413), and third in saves per game (8.25 per game). 
 
Siena is 9-12 all-time in MAAC Tournament games and will be seeking its fifth MAAC Championship Game appearance. Niagara has been to the MAAC Championship three times and won the title in 2024 with an 11-10 win over Fairfield. 
 
The winner will play either top-seeded Fairfield or No. 6 Quinnipiac this Sunday at 11 a.m. in Fairfield, CT for the MAAC Championship. Fairfield has won the title nine times and has been in the championship on 16 occasions. Quinnipiac would be seeking its first appearance in the championship game.