FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- After a weekend of play against two nationally-ranked teams, Head Coach Jackie Kane built a small respite from competition into the 2022 schedule with a week away from competition. The Stags field hockey team traveled to two top-25 programs in Miami University and the University of Louisville on September 17 and 18 but now get back to work with a home game on Sunday, September 25 against Yale University.

The Bulldogs won four of their first six non-conference games before opening up Ivy League play with a 3-2 overtime win at Brown. This Sunday's date will mark Yale's third match against a Northeast Conference (NEC) team having already lost to Wagner in the opener but coming back to defeat Sacred Heart later in the campaign. 

Yale's offense is distributed between eight student-athletes who have scored at least two points during through the seven games with Ellie Barlow and Theodora Dillman leading the way with three goals and one assist for seven points each. Lily Ramsey is the team's other multi-goal scorer with two goals in her seven appearances.. Luanna Summer has played every minute of those seven outings in the Yale goal, sporting a 1.57 goals against average with a .718 save percentage .The goalkeeper averages four saves per game, checking into the weekend with 28 stops in seven entries.

Fairfield will look to return home where it split a four-game home stand before embarking on that two-game road swing against the nationally-ranked opponents. The Stags split a pair of weekends on its home pitch including a 2-1 win over Lafayette College in their last appearance at University Field. Laia Vancells posted her first goal as a Fairfield student-athlete while Agustina Casteluchi netted her team-leading third goal against the Leopards. 

Senior Julianna Kratz also has six points on the season, accomplishing the task with a combination of two goals and two assists. Newcomer Nora Amme has been the team's top play maker this season, registering five assists on the campaign which represents having a stick in more than half of the eight goals scored by the team this season.

Goalkeeper Payton Rahn continues to put up impressive numbers highlighted by her career-high 10 saves against fourth-ranked Louisville last Sunday. She has 2.32 goals against average with a .716 save percentage which comes as a result of her 48 saves. Rahn ranks 19th in the nation with her 6.0 saves per game.

Following Sunday's game, the Stags will open play in NEC competition when they travel to Sacred Heart University for the conference opener on September 30.  Fairfield plays its first two conference games on the road before welcoming Merrimack College for an October 9 meeting at University Field.