DURHAM, N.H. -- After playing a scoreless first half, the Fairfield University field hockey team surrendered four second-half goals against New Hampshire as the Wildcats advanced to the America East championship game with a 4-0 decision over the Stags. Fairfield was playing in the conference tournament for the second straight year, and was eliminated by the Wildcats for the second straight time.

The Stags held their own with top-seeded New Hampshire, keeping the game scoreless with tenacious defense through the opening 35 minutes. Although the Wildcats held a 9-1 advantage in shots, only one of those attempts actually made it to goalkeeper Caitlin Bennett. And, the freshman kicked that shot away to keep the game scoreless.

The second half heated up though as the home team began to apply more pressure up front. At the same time, Fairfield's offensive game plan began to click as well as the Stags began to create more and more opportunities. The team would take six shots in the half with three of those being on target. But, New Hampshire goalkeeper Carlie Tarbell turned away all of those attempts. New Hampshire managed to put eight shots on the board, but in this half, the shots found the back of the cage.

Chandler Giese finally broke through just seven-plus minutes into the second half by netting an unassisted goal. Less than four minutes later, Giese played a role in the team's second goal when her pass into the circle found the stick of Emma Compagna. The sophomore controlled the ball and sent a shot toward the goal that caught the corner of the cage to double up the lead at 2-0. The forward was not done yet as she picked up her fifth goal of the year and second straight in the game, taking a cross from Kellie Joyce and beating Bennett for a 3-0 Wildcat edge. The final goal came with just under seven minutes remaining in the game as Meg Flatley drove the ball into the net at 63:01 to complete the scoring.

Bennett made two saves in three saves in the game, while Tarbell equaled the save total for New Hampshire. Fairfield finished the season with an 11-7 overall record and posted a 2-3 mark in America East action.