FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- A sophomore helped the senior class celebrate its final game at University Field on Friday afternoon as the field hockey picked up a 4-2 victory over the University of Vermont. Ann Burgoyne was responsible for all four Fairfield goals, scoring one in the first half and three more in the second half.

Fairfield took the lead early in the first half when Kaitlyn Taddeo sent a ball from the top of the circle to the center, just five yards from the goal. Burgoyne accepted the pass and poked the ball past goalkeeper Lena Benwood to make it a 1-0 Fairfield advantage. The Stags continued to pressure Vermont, outshooting their opponent 7-1 in the opening half, but Benwood made four saves to keep the game close.

Just three minutes into the second half, Emily McCauley backhanded a cross from the left circle where Burgoyne positioned herself smartly in the center once again. She beat the goalkeeper to the far side and doubled the Stags advantage to 2-0.

Benwood made three spectacular saves a few minutes later, two off the stick of Emily Leo, that kept the game at 2-0, an important factor because it gave Vermont an opportunity to come back. And, the Catamounts did exactly that as Tess O'Brien scored two goals just four minutes apart to tie the game at 2-2 with 10 minutes remaining.

Taddeo and Burgoyne would connect once again as the senior sent a pass to the sophomore, who redirected the ball into the back of the cage to break the tie. Vermont pulled its goalkeeper for the extra attacker, but the strategy backfired when Taddeo found Burgoyne streaking toward the goal and hit her with a pass in stride. The forward finished the play by pushing the ball into the empty net to improve the lead to 4-2 with 36 seconds  left. 

Fairfield had a 21-7 advantage in shots, forcing Benwood to make 10 saves. Fairfield goalkeeper Caitlin Bennett turned away four Vermont shots to earn the victory.

The Stags close out the regular-season with a game at UMass Lowell on October 31.