On Friday, Oct. 21, the Fairfield University field hockey team dropped a close one in a Northeast Conference matchup against Wagner College by a score of 2-1. 

Each team’s defense dominated this match with both teams shooting a combined twelve shots, with Wagner firing seven and Fairfield shooting five. In addition, the teams only put eight shots on net and Wagner’s domination in this category led to their victory with Wagner having six to Fairfield’s two according to the game’s official recap.

Sophomore goalie Payton Rahn played a strong game in net with four big saves for the Stags. She kept her team in the game with her play and gave the team a chance to win. 

Wagner started off however with an early penalty shot goal to take the lead and momentum just past the four-minute mark. The Stags did not have a single shot in the first corner and Wagner had two. 

The second quarter saw the score remain 1-0 with the Stags picking up the pace and getting off two shots however they did not convert on either attempt. Defensively they shut down Wagner and went into the half trailing but with an uptick in momentum.

The Stags then came out in the third quarter attacking. They got a penalty corner to set up their first and only goal of the day. Graduate student Frances Mirabile sent the ball off of the penalty corner to fellow graduate student Nora Amme. Amme then sent a shot at the net where Mirabile deflected it and found the back of the net to tie the game up and 1-1.

The fourth quarter then remained scoreless for the first 12 minutes of play. Both teams were doing all they could to take the lead and both defenses remained strong. Then Wagner got a penalty corner with just three minutes to play. The ball was then sent in from the corner and Laura van Hamburg scored what would end up being the game-winner to make the game 2-1 with less than three minutes remaining. 

The win gave Wagner their fifth in conference to make their record 5-1 and made their overall record 10-6.

The Stags would then go on to play in Brookville, N.Y. against Long Island University on Sunday, Oct. 23 and left with the win. 

On the stat sheet, things were just about as even as they could be. LIU shot 11 times putting six on net while Fairfield shot ten times also putting six on net. Fairfield had four saves and eight corners and LIU had three saves and nine corners according to the game’s official recap.

The Stags initially came out sluggish, letting up two goals in the first quarter of play. The first was four minutes into the game and the Sharks put in their second after a corner in the 12th-minute leading to a few passes and a quick goal. 

Fairfield remained seemingly focused and locked things down after the rough first quarter by picking up the offensive pressure and locking down on defense. 

In the second quarter, the Stags outshot the Sharks 4-1, leading to two goals. The first came in the 25th-minute from Amme finding the back of the net.

 Just a few minutes later, with little time left in the half Amme put it past the Sharks goaltender yet again to tie the game at two going to the half.

After an exciting first two quarters, the third did not feature the same offensive firepower. Just two shots were rattled off, both by the Stags with one coming from Emma Radebaugh ‘25 and another coming from Mirabile.

After the sluggish third quarter, the game came down to the final fifteen minutes. LIU had six shots in the fourth and Rahn stopped three with the other three missing the net. Then in a crucial mistake, LIU was called for an infraction which led to a penalty stroke for the Stags. 

Once again, Amme was called on to score yet another goal for the Stags. She would come through big time in the contest, getting herself the hat trick and the Stags the big win. The Stags took the 3-2 lead early in the fourth and did not give it back, securing the victory. 

The win improved the Stag’s record to 8-8 with a 4-2 NEC record and dropped LIU to a 6-11 record. The Stags will close out the regular season with two home games, the first being on Friday, Oct. 28 in the NEC finale against Stonehill College. They then end their regular season at Lessing Field against La Salle University on Sunday, Oct. 30. Visit fairfieldstags.com for more information.