Fairfield Sports Information Junior Kristen Coleman and the Stags fell 14-10 to New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon. (Peter Cady/The Mirror)
A road trip. An out-of-conference game against a top opponent. A hostile crowd. None of the above is conducive to any sort of positives, no less a victory.
All of the above caused the Stags to suffer its third loss of the season and second in a pair of games, falling to New Hampshire, 14-10.
Despite the loss, a feverish second-half comeback and a pair of goals from junior Kristen Coleman and fifth-year senior Caitlin Young means that the team is probably viewing the setback to the Wildcats as a definite learning experience for the team and its run-and-gun offense.
Moreover, it can reflect on its impressive out-of-conference success this spring, highlighted by victories against in-state rivals Yale and Sacred Heart, and now begin to turn its attention toward the team’s ultimate goal: its third consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Regular Season Championship and another berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Following the team’s final two out-of-conferences against St. Mary’s and Holy Cross, the team begins its conference schedule with a trip to Buffalo and a weekend slate against Canisius and Niagara.
And if the early-season success, and last year’s banner season, is any indication, head coach Mike Waldvogel’s team may not look back from here forward.
At nearly the same date a season ago, the Stags lost to Dartmouth, which ranked sixteenth in the nation at the time in the USILA rankings.
The team’s next game correlated with the outset of conference play, not to mention a stretch in which the Stags won eleven consecutive games en route to a regular-season MAAC Championship and a thrilling 16-10 victory against Sacred Heart that clinched the first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.
More impressive was the level of dominance displayed in the stretch. Fairfield totaled at least sixteen goals in the streak, and only twice did the opposition reach double-digit goals.
This season, Fairfield has played a competitive schedule, losing three games to James Madison, Lehigh and New Hampshire by a combined six goals. Both JMU and NHU have been nationally ranked this season and Lehigh is currently 8-1.
After two more nonconference games, Fairfield will start MAAC Conference play. For the first time since 2003, the MAAC champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In previous years, the winner advanced to a play-in game against another conference champion. Direct entry is based on a conference’s RPI.
Fairfield won the MAAC last season and defeated Sacred Heart in the play-in game, but lost 10-8 to Penn in the NCAA Tournament.
Fairfield was tabbed as the MAAC favorite in the coaches poll this season.
Chris Simmons contributed to this article.
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