Fairfield women’s lacrosse improved its season record to 3-1 after a gritty 9-8 win against Hofstra University on Saturday.
With the Stags’ first road trip taking them across the Long Island Sound to face the Pride, Fairfield had to fight until the final minutes of regular play to secure the win. It was sophomore Charlotte Loughlin who managed to find the game winner with two minutes left, with an assist from junior Kelley Haggerty.
While the Stags ended on top, Hofstra had much of the attacking momentum during the first couple minutes of the game. The Pride built up a 3-0 run before Loughlin opened the scoring for Fairfield in the eleventh minute.
Notable performances from Haggerty and sophomore Tessa Caputo underlined Fairfield’s attacking efforts. Haggerty’s hat-trick and assist pushed her past the 100-point milestone, bringing her career total to 101 (76 goals and 25 assists). Caputo’s four assists on the day bring her season total to 11 assists, leading the team with 14 points overall.
From the back, the Stags continued to show strength with fifth-year goalkeeper Whitney Robinson making seven saves and collecting three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Junior Sophia Colasacco also contributed strongly to the defensive effort, creating three caused turnovers and finding two ground balls.
“Hofstra was definitely a challenge, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” Colasacco said. “Every close game makes us even stronger for the next competition. Now we’re locked in to take a big win against Drexel next Saturday.”
Collectively, Fairfield’s defense has only conceded 29 goals so far this season – complementing an attack that has totalled 37 goals thus far.
Hofstra’s Kristen Redding scored three of the Pride’s eight goals, but the Fairfield defense was able to hold off her and Hofstra’s attacking momentum in the crucial final moments of regular time to collect the win.
This victory for Fairfield marked a solid answer to last year’s 17-11 loss to the Pride when the matchup was held on Rafferty Field.
The next match for the Stags is against Drexel University back at Rafferty Stadium in another non-conference tilt on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m., with free admission for all fans.