DAVIS, Calif. – The Fairfield University field hockey team defeated UC-Davis, 2-1, this afternoon at the Aggie Field Hockey Facility. The victory is the first for the Stags in the 2014 campaign. Senior Sarah Wickles and sophomore Julie de Paeuw scored for Fairfield.

The Stags started off strong, taking the first two shots of the game off of penalty corners. UC-Davis responded with two shots of their own which were blocked by Fairfield's defense. Both teams continued to battle but were unable to score for the remainder of the period. The game remained scoreless heading into the second half.

Wickles put Fairfield on the board at 51:47 when she scored off a one-time deflection in front of the net. Wickles beat the Aggies' goalkeeper, Beth Lee, to her right to give the Stags a 1-0 advantage. The goal was assisted by Emily McCauley. UC-Davis scored about nine minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. The Aggies' Kristin Rodgers redirected the ball to the inside far post to put UC-Davis on the board at 60:11.

Fairfield continued to dominate play with shots from Kaitlyn Taddeo and Felicitas Heinen, off a penalty corner. At 67:50, de Paeuw beat Lee top shelf to her left to score an unassisted goal which put Fairfield ahead, 2-1. UC-Davis was unable to score in the remaining two minutes and 10 seconds, sealing a final 2-1 victory for Fairfield.  

Goalkeeper Caitlin Bennett faced two shots on the day, stopping one, while UC-Davis' Lee made six saves. The Stags and Aggies had an equal 12-12 advantage in shots while Fairfield had a 7-4 advantage in penalty corners. Senior Heinen tallied four shots while freshman Marta Laginja tallied two.

Fairfield (1-1) returns to University Field on September 5 for its home opener against Villanova at 4pm.