FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey team fell to 1-3 on the season after a 4-2 defeat by American at the Terrapin Invitational.
A 3-0 halftime lead proved to be the difference as the Stags outscored the Eagles 2-1 in the second frame. In the first half, American outshot Fairfield 16-4 and had seven penalty corners while only conceding two.
The Stags held American scoreless for the first 20 minutes before they got on the board after their sixth penalty corner of the game. Natalie Konerth took the pass from Rafaela Rubas to give American the early lead. Less than five minutes later, Jess Davis secured the pass from Anne Waverly Spencer to give her team a 2-0 lead.
Right before the break, Rubas a got a goal of her own off a penalty corner that was assisted by Haley Bowcutt and Natalie Marsh. Giving American a 3-0 advantage heading into halftime.
In the second half, American got right back on the board when they turned a Fairfield penalty corner into a one on one the other way. Bowcutt got the score to bring the lead to four goals with nearly 30 minutes remaining.
The Stags showed fight and didn't give up, in the 52nd minute Jamie Appelberg corralled a pass from Julie de Paeuw and shot from the left side of the circle for the first Fairfield goal of the game.
Then in the 58th minute, it was Jaclyn Gallagher's turn as she grabbed the rebound off Erin Buckley's shot and was able to find the back of the net to cut the deficit in half. But it was too little too late to mount a full comeback as American would hang on for the 4-2 victory.
Senior Caitlin Bennett made the start in cage playing the full 70 minutes, making five saves against 25 American shots throughout the game.
"Our team never gave up and we made some crucial adjustments at halftime. I feel we dominated the second half and we need to play the entire 70 minutes tomorrow against Cal to get a positive result," said Head Coach Jackie Kane.
With Cal's 5-1 loss to Maryland on Saturday morning, Fairfield is now set to face the Golden Bears at noon on Sunday in the third place game of the Terrapin Invitational.
Live Stats for Sunday's game can be found here and be sure to follow @Stags_FH on Twitter for all the latest field hockey news.
