Maryland Heights, Mo.. -- In a tightly contested game at a neutral site, the Fairfield University and Kent State field hockey teams played through a scoreless first half before the Stags' second-half surge lifted the team to its fourth straight win with a 2-1 decision over the Golden Flashes. 

Despite the two teams' unfamiliarity with each other, there was little time for feeling out what each team did best. The Stags made a strong run in the opening two minutes that ended with a penalty corner opportunity. Danielle Profita took a shot off the corner but the attempt went wide of the target. Fairfield would not earn any more corners or shots for the remaining 13 minutes, putting the defense on the spot to keep the game scoreless.

Kent State was held in check for the first 12 minutes of the quarter before an offensive flurry came about in the final two minutes of the quarter. Two penalty corners came in succession for the Golden Flashes but both resulted in shots that were wide of the goal. Two minutes later, Clara Rodriguez Seto found an open lane inside the circle and sent a shot toward the cage that beat the Stags' defense but ricocheted off the post before the ball was cleared from any other danger.

The Stags were responsible for three of the four shots taken between the two teams in the second quarter with Faith Spaziano leading the attack. Spaziano took two shots in the period, the first of which required a defensive save by Kent State's Melanie Scibilia. Spaziano took the team's final shot of the quarter but it was blocked in front of the goalkeeper and sent away from the circle. Fairfield opened the second quarter with a shot by Page Lowry but goalkeeper Azure Fernsler turned the attempt away.

With the teams tied at 0-0, the third quarter opened with Fairfield earning a penalty corner that set up a shot from Julianna Kratz. On that play, Kent State was whistled for another infraction to establish another penalty corner. This time, Profita's restart ended up finding Luzi Persiehl in the center of the circle and the defender pushed a shot past the goalkeeper to put Fairfield in front by a 1-0 count.

The Stags doubled their advantage in the final quarter with a goal just 42 seconds into the period. Kratz started the scoring play with a pass to the stick of Lowry, who one-timed a shot to the far post that beat the Kent State defenders. The two-goal stood until the final minute of regulation when Kent State's Claudia Ortiz posted the team's lone goal with 19 seconds left on the clock. 

Fairfield goalkeeper Zoe Rosen made two saves to preserve the victory while her counterpart Fernsler stopped three attempts. Fairfield will finish up its two-game Midwestern run with a game against Indiana University on Sunday afternoon before returning home for a four-game home stand that begins with Columbia University on September 20.