Chloe Magnan was the MAAC Rookie of the Week. (Fairfield Sports Information)
With a victory over California on March 21, the Stags improved to 5-2 this season and returned to their winning ways after a loss to Lehigh.
Leading scorer Kristen Coleman scored six goals and earned the Metro Alantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Week Award for her effort. Coleman has 25 goals this season, and her goals per game average is 10th best in the NCAA North Carolina transfer Caitlin Young scored five goals and has 11 overall.
Freshman Chloe Magnan scored five goals during the two weeks last game and also has 16 this season. She was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week.
Fairfield and California traded the first four goals of the game, but the Stags took over from there, scoring six of the next eight goals. Coleman recorded four of those six goals. She had six shots on goal and recorded goals on all six shots.
The Stags also went on a six goal run in the second half from the 17:36 mark to the 11:26 mark to take a 17-9 lead and secure the victory.
Goalie Katie Keenan, a freshman from Wantagh, New York, had 13 saves, including seven in the first half. Keenan has started all seven games for Fairfield this season and has allowed 78 goals with 59 saves. Keenan replaced Lauren Chatnik, who graduated last season and was the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. Keenan was an All-County goalie at Wantagh High School her senior season, and was the team’s Most Valuable Player.
With a rookie goalie, the Stags have leaned on a defense led by senior Renee L’Heureux, who has 16 groundballs and has forced three turnovers this season and midfielder Amy Kelleher, also a senior, who has 15 groundballs. Junior midfielder Brittany Bare has 20 groundballs and 16 forced turnovers. The Stags are 18th in the nation in turnovers forced (10.86 per game) and have 18.71 ground balls per game.
While the defense has stepped up in front of its rookie goalie, the offense has been the staple of head coach Mike Waldvogel’s team. The “run and gun” style he has perfected has provided the 12th best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 14.71 goals per game. Albany leads the NCAA with 17.4 goals per game. Coleman ranks 12th in the nation in goals (25 goals), while senior Erin Rigby (22 goals) is 27th. Rigby scored seven goals in one game against Quinnipiac on March 11 and against Monmotuh on Feb. 21, which is tied for the third most in a single game.
The Stags, the defending MAAC champions, were picked to finish first in the conference, but do not begin conference play until April 9 at Canisius. Fairfield returns to action on March 28 with a trip to New Hampshire and then plays St. Mary’s on April 1 at home. The Stags also play Holy Cross on the road before the MAAC play begins.
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