WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – On any given day.

In late September, the Fairfield University field hockey team outshot LIU Brooklyn by a 28-2 margin. But on that day, only one of the Stags' shots found the back of the cage while both of the Blackbirds attempts crossed the goal line.

On this day, Fairfield put together another dominant performance against LIU Brooklyn in the first semifinal of the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament, outshooting the by a 21-2 count. The difference today was that six of Fairfield's shots found their way into the goal, resulting in Fairfield's 6-0 win.

The victory sends Head Coach Jackie Kane and her team into the MAAC tournament final on Sunday at 12:00 pm. The Stags will play the winner of this afternoon's second semifinal between top-seeded and host Monmouth University and fourth-seeded Rider University.

That loss back in September and the regular-season ending setback to Sacred Heart may have been disappointing, but for Coach Kane, those results may have been what this team needed to refocus and get back to playing to its full potential.

"No one likes to lose a game, especially a coach," Coach Kane said. "But on the other hand, if we had won either game with the effort that we had on those days, we may not have had the moment of realization that we are not perfect and cannot just go out and expect to win without being focused. I think the LIU result forced us to reexamine who we are and that led to four straight wins. And the Sacred Heart game led us to the performance we had today."

The performance to which Coach Kane refers was the best offensive play of the season, scoring six times which eclipsed Fairfield's four-goal game against Siena College a week ago. And at the heart of today's showing was the senior class, a group trying to win its second MAAC title in the last three years.

Up front, seniors Hannah Pike, Andrea Soler, and Jamie Appelberg accounted for five of the team's six goals. Pike posted three goals, setting the tone with the game's first two scores in the opening 10 minutes. She also finished the scoring with the team's sixth goal at the 59:10 mark. Solar picked up her team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 20^th minute while Appelberg completed a brilliant play set up by Jaclyn Gallagher at 43:37. Gallagher projected her presence in the circle as she had all season long, making and setting plays that so often result in goals.

"Hannah is really possessed and wants to win the championship ever since we were here last year," Kane said. "She has been working really hard and has been leading by example all season. I told Jackie she needed to be our point guard and that was exactly what she was. She had her eyes up and made great passes, including that play that resulted in Jamie's goal which was gorgeous. And Andrea always adds spark to the forward line."

As well as the offense played, the Stags were just as dominant in the defensive third behind the strong play by Corrine Baliga, Bridget Miles, Erin Buckley, and Cassie Hughes. The Stags defense allowed just two shots today mainly through their ability to keep the ball out of the circle and preventing any dangerous situations. Goalkeeper Caitlin Gilligan made one save to record her fourth shutout in the last five games.

"Bridget came in today and had an amazing day in the back and helped deny their counter attack," Kane said. "Corrine is always steady back there while Erin showed today why she was named the co-defensive player of the year and why she deserves all those accolades. And, I give Caitlin a lot of credit because at times it's harder to be a goalkeeper that faces two shots than 24 shots because you always have to keep yourself focused because you never know when that next shot is coming."

With their offense and defense seemingly in sync, the Stags will practice Saturday in preparation for Sunday's championship game with the hope that given day will go their way.