After a weekend at Philadelphia, where Fairfield defeated both Drexel University and Villanova University by a score of 2-1, the Stags returned home to host Hofstra University. After earning an early lead, Hofstra battled back to take the 3-2 victory on Wednesday, Sept. 23 to snap Fairfield’s two-game winning streak.
“It sucks, we needed to win this game. It was a great opportunity for us to win and we let it slip,” said head coach Jackie Kane after the game.
Nine minutes into the game, Fairfield got their first possession. Junior Ann Burgoyne had two consecutive opportunities at the cage, but Hofstra’s goalkeeper saved each shot.
The ball found its way towards midfielder Emily McCauley ’16, who shot the ball past Hofstra’s goalkeeper to score the game’s first goal and her first of the season. “It was my first goal of the season, so it was a personal victory. But I was really proud of the team, mid-week games are always tough for us but I thought the first goal was really great. Just a shame we couldn’t keep the lead,” said McCauley about the team’s start to the game.
Five minutes after Fairfield scored their first goal, Hofstra came out of a penalty corner where Stella Schoen found midfielder Colby Hussong for a shot at the cage from the top of the circle to tie the game at one apiece.
With the scored tied, Hofstra regained possession and had an opportunity at the cage as Madison Sauve shot just wide of the net. Hofstra was then awarded another penalty corner where Schoen found teammate Charlotte Loehr for her second assist of the game and Hofstra’s second goal.
For the 12 minutes remaining in the first half, both teams seemed to settle down as they battled heavy defense. “I think we were a little slow to start today, but once we got our feet underneath us and into the groove of the game, everybody was stepping up doing their jobs and obviously the defenders did their jobs in the final minutes of the first half to keep us close, keep us within range of the game,” said Kane.
The Stags headed into the half down 2-1. Hofstra wasted little time to get back on the board as they scored in the first five minutes of the second half as Claudia Marin Samper tipped in a pass by Simca Schoen. Hofstra pushed their lead up to 3-1 with 30 minutes remaining in the game.
The Stags fought their way back to get even. After three consecutive penalty corners for Fairfield, they scored another goal in the 55th minute of the game. McCauley assisted Jamie Appelberg ’18 as she found her in front of the cage for a shot at the net. “I loved the execution because Emily McCauley isn’t usually that player and she stepped up. She was a senior and took leadership. That’s the corner I called and she executed it perfectly,” said Kane.
Fairfield would continue to battle, but was unable to score again as Hofstra would escape with a 3-2 victory. “We did well, but they turned around and took the momentum back from us. That’s something that we have to keep working on throughout the season,” said Kane.
McCauley finished the game with a goal, an assist and with three points to lead all Stags. “I think this is a breakout game for her. She was effective on both the offensive, with the goal and assist and the defensive side. She was a good all-around player for us today,” said Kane about McCauley’s performance.
“We haven’t entered MAAC [Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference] yet. They’re important games, but it’s just preparation to get us ready for the MAAC in a couple of games. So we’re getting excited and more prepared each game,” said McCauley after Wednesday’s loss.
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