IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Fairfield University field hockey team battled hard all game long, but it was not enough to overcome a 2-0 halftime deficit. The Stags fell to an Iowa squad that is recieving votes in the national poll, 4-1 on Friday afternoon.
For the first 15 minutes, the Stags held the Hawkeyes scoreless. Caitlin Bennett did all she could recording eight saves on the day. Once the Iowa offense clicked they proved too much to handle for the Fairfield defense.
Iowa struck first when Mallory Lefkowitz beat the Stag defense before firing a goal into the far post. Four minutes later off a penalty corner, Katie Birch took the shot and hammered home the second goal of the day. That 2-0 score would hold into halftime.
Out of the break, Iowa kept pushing. Natalie Cofone ran right around the Stag defense to find the perfect angle for a one on one shot. That gave the Hawkeyes a 3-0 lead with under 30 minutes to play.
With under 10 minutes to play, Cofone got the pass from Lefkowitz and quickly extended the lead to four.
Hannah Pike ended the shutout dreams for Iowa as she put one in in the 64th minute. Scoring her first career goal for Fairfield, but it was too little too late as Iowa held on for the 4-1 victory.
Iowa outshot Fairfield 21-9 on the day, Ann Burgoyne and Julie de Paeuw each had three shots for the visitors.
The Stags will have a quick turnaround as they hit the field again tomorrow, facing Saint Louis in Iowa City at 12:30 p.m.
