FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey team was one of three teams to open the Northeast Conference (NEC) portion of the schedule with a victory. Now, the Stags will concentrate on continuing that trend with a pair of NEC matches this weekend. Fairfield travels to Rider University on Friday night for a 7 pm match before hosting Merrimack College on Sunday at 1 pm.

Head Coach Jackie Kane watched her team overcome a pair of one-goal deficits on the Stags' way to a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart last Friday. Graduate student Nora Amme pitched in with her first two goals of the season, netting the team's second and third goals that brought the team to victory. She comes into the week with nine points off two goals and a team-best five assists Only Julianna Kratz has more points than the newcomer, posting a team-leading four goals with two assists for 10 points.

The Stags defense remains resolute with goalkeeper Payton Rahn being steadfast inside the circle. The sophomore continues to impress with her play, making 5.8 saves per game after her four stops in the Sacred Heart match. Rahn, who has collected two NEC Defensive Player of the Week awards, ranks 20^th in the NCAA for saves per game and is very close to cracking the top 15. Dieneke Hes from Bryant currently stands 15^th with 6.0 stops every 60 minutes.

Rider University comes back to its campus after five straight road games which included a 4-0 win over Georgetown in its last match. The Broncs opened the stretch with a 2-0 decision over Towson before dropping consecutive matches to La Salle University, Lock Haven University, and Drexel. Rider's overall record of 4-4 includes a pair of overtime setbacks against Appalachian State and Drexel.

Valeria Perales not only serves as the team's top scorer but she also ranks first in goals (11) and points (26) among all NEC student-athletes. She is the only student-athlete in the NEC to average better than two points per game (2.60). While Perales heads the duties up front, goalkeeper Kaitlyn Tomas has been the anchor inside the circle. She currently leads the NEC with her 1.53 goals against average which is aided by her conference-best two shutouts.

Merrimack College opened its conference schedule with a setback against Wagner College last Friday. The team plays the second and third matches of a three-game road run this weekend, starting with a match up against Stonehill on Friday.

The Warriors have a well-dispersed offense that currently has nine different student-athletes with at least one point to their credit in 2022. Anne-Sophie Hogenboom sits on top of the statistics with a team-high five points, a number enhanced by her team-leading three assists. Autumn Bartush and Lauren Burke each have a pair of goals to lead their teammates in that category.  Isabelle Gardiner has played a majority of the minutes in the Merrimack goal, sporting 50 saves in her 420 minutes of work (7.1 saves per game).