The Stags’ perfect start to their MAAC season looked like it would continue following their 18-6 victory at Iona last Friday, but it came to an end on Sunday when they lost 12-7 against conference rival Manhattan.
The game put the Stags at 5-6 overall and 2-1 in the MAAC while Manhattan improved to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the league.
The Jaspers came out strong, pressing offensively and Fairfield couldn’t keep up. The Jaspers led 4-0 at halftime and never looked back.
“The first half we only let in four goals, so defense wasn’t that bad,” said Head Coach Stacey McCue. “We just weren’t sharp on the attacking end. We just had a bad game; you can’t afford to, you have to bring it every game.”
Fairfield was led all weekend by rookie Erin Rigby ’10, who scored a career-high four goals in the game against Iona and added two more against Manhattan.
The Stags were caught on their heels from the beginning, unable to answer any of Manhattan’s four first-half goals.
The Stags didn’t get on the board until senior captain Sarah Masterson ’07 scored almost three minutes into the second half when they narrowed the lead to 5-1.
But the Jaspers scored two more goals to bring the score to 7-1, their biggest lead of the game.
“We never had the ball,” said Rigby. “Right off the draw they would get it and go down, and if we wound up picking up the ball we would not be in control and we would over throw it.”
Finally, the Stags kicked it into gear, scoring three goals in less than two minutes to make the score 7-4.
But once again, the Jaspers’ offense was too much, and they tallied another five unanswered goals to take a 12-4 lead. Fairfield ended the streak with three straight goals, but it wasn’t enough and the Stags fell 12-7.
Despite the loss, the Stags are still tied for third in the MAAC standings with Marist.
Rigby ended the game with two goals and two assists. Also performing for the Stags were Masterson and Katie von Hoffman ’08, who scored two goals, and Ashley Chappell ’07, who had a goal and two assists.
Stags goaltender Lauren Chatnik ’09 played the whole game, allowing 12 goals and making 10 saves.
The Stags will take a break from MAAC play when they travel to play Columbia at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4.
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