FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Traffic was not kind to the Fairfield University field hockey on Friday night, pushing the team's arrival back to campus past midnight following its win over Lafayette. And with only one day to prepare for the home opener against Villanova, fatigue was certainly a factor for the Stags when they took the field for their match on Sunday afternoon, especially when you figure in that the Wildcats had yet to play a game. But Head Coach Jackie Kane watched her team battle that fatigue enough to keep the Wildcats in check as Fairfield improved to 2-0 with its 3-1 win over its Big East foe.

"I think Villanova was certainly taking advantage of our fatigue," Coach Kane said. "They were able to get to balls that we really wanted but our legs were not able to do what are our brains were telling them to do. We were able to combat that fatigue with a lot of subs. But, we needed to be aware of the sub pattern because we have a lot of new players who are still learning the system so we needed to keep some of veterans on the field as well."

The maneuvering by Kane and her staff apparently worked well enough for the program to win its second game in as many starts, the best start since the 2013 won its opening two contests en route to an 11-7 season. And when you factor in the offense's quick start, scoring three goals in each of the team's first two outings and five different Stags netting at least one goal so far, you can start seeing that this team has many options inside the circle.

"We talked about doing something every time we get inside the circle and that includes finishing which the team has done so far this season," Coach Kane said. "The team is showing a complete commitment to get to the ball and make things happen."

Danielle Profita opened the scoring when she converted a pass from Emma Matlach at the 8:11 mark, giving the sophomore her second goal of the season.
               
The Stags doubled their advantage just three minutes later when Sam Giordano secured a rebound off a shot that hit the cross bar and one-timed the ball into an open net that pushed the home team in front 2-0. Villanova took advantage of a Fairfield turnover which set off a two-on-one advantage for the Wildcats. Lexi DiGennaro picked up the loose ball and dribbled by a defender before sending a pass to Lydia Sydnor, who hit a shot that caught the right corner and cut the lead to 2-1.
 
In the second half, Villanova applied early pressure but it was Fairfield that would eventually score the only goal of the period. Kaley McMullen sent a cross from the left circle that was guided at goal The ball was deflected but managed to continue its trajectory toward the goal where Meghan Maguire caught up to the pass and guided the ball into the goal.
 
Fairfield goalkeeper Zoe Rosen made one save on the five shots taken by Villanova to earn her second win of the season. Villanova goalkeeper Erika Miller registered five saves on 12 shots she faced in the game.

"I think they played with a lot of resilience and played really hard today," Coach Kane said. "We did make it a little more difficult for ourselves at times when we started to individualize rather than play as a unit. We kept telling them that one cannot beat 11. Once they started playing as group of 11, we started to get the momentum back and were able to finish strongly."
 
Fairfield returns to action next weekend when it travels to Drexel for an August 31 match up.