Box Score  

               WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Jackie Kane has a very simple philosophy, one that has done well by her throughout her time as the head coach of the Fairfield University field hockey program. Simply stated, you need to play the best to be the best. Today, that philosophy proved true as the Stags captured their second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship in three years by edging top-seeded Monmouth University by a 2-1 score at So Sweet A Cat Field.

                "Getting ready for today started from the first day of preseason camp," Kane said. "We battled through some tough opponents early in the year including three ranked opponents but we knew that it would get us ready for this moment. I'm so proud of how hard and well this team played today."

                At the top of that players list is Hannah Pike, who was named the tournament most valuable player after scoring three goals in Friday's semifinal win and both goals in today's victory.

                "Hannah is game-tough and always ready to play," Kane said.  "She worked hard all season to play in this game. Whether she was up front, in the middle of the field, or behind the ball, she wanted to be involved in every aspect of the game and led us by example. All the seniors were critical to winning today"

                The Stags needed the senior leadership today especially in the first 15 minutes of the game. Monmouth, which lost to Fairfield by a 3-1 count in the regular season, came out aggressively and attacked the ball on every possession. And it was that aggression that led to the Hawks' goal which came when Kelly Hanna secured the ball on the left wing and sent a cross that Josephine van der Hoop redirected into the goal.

                The goal seemed to incite the Hawks even more and the attack at times seemed relentless. Slowly but surely, Fairfield found its footing and began to push Monmouth back into the middle third.

                "We expected them to come out aggressively at the start," Kane said. "I am sure they were not happy with the regular-season result so they made some changes that were not necessarily structural but more in terms of tempo.  But our defenders stepped up and changed the momentum to our side especially in the second half."

                After the half, the Stags began to create more space with quick passes that led to more counter opportunities. One of those opportunities led to Fairfield's first goal as defender Cassie Hughes took control of the ball in Fairfield's territory and sent a long pass down the center of the field to Pike, who managed to sneak past two Monmouth defenders. Pike secured the ball five yards past any Monmouth defender and went one-on-one with the Monmouth goalkeeper and eventually finished off the chance with a backhander that caught the upper corner of the goal.

                "That play was a game changer," Kane said. "It was incredible vision for Cassie to see that lane and make that pass plus Hannah's composure to finish the play really made a difference in how this game played out."

                The two teams played most of the next 10 minutes or so in and around the midfield stripe with neither squad really able to mount and prolonged offensive thrust. With 14 minutes left in the game, Fairfield was awarded a penalty corner which Lily Auch started with a pass to the top of the circle. Pike received the ball and hit a low shot that tucked just inside the near post to give the Stags their first lead of the game.

                The Stags will now prepare for their third trip to the NCAA tournament in program history and will learn their fate when the NCAA Field Hockey Selection Show will announce the pairings tonight.

                "I'm just really happy for these players who worked so hard and responded to everything we asked of them all season long," Kane said. "I am looking forward to finding out who we play and continuing our season."
  
                 Pike was named the MAAC Tournament most valuable player and was joined by Jaclyn Gallagher, Erin Buckley, and Cassie Hughes on the MAAC All-Tournament team.