WORCESTER, Mass. – The Fairfield University field hockey team stepped onto the pitch for the 17^th this season. And for the 14^th time, the Stags came away with a victory. Fairfield used a third-quarter goal from Lucie Vincent, her second of the game, to edge the College of the Holy Cross in the regular-season finale.

Head Coach Jackie Kane, who collected her 250^th career win on Friday, watched her squad earn a win the way it has all season long – with a timely offense and a stifling defense. Goalkeeper Payton Rahn made her third save of a penalty corner to highlight a defensive effort that limited Holy Cross to 10 shots on goal over the 60 minutes. Inside the circle, the Stags offense registered 22 shots with 15 of those being on target.

But the most important of Fairfield's shots came off the stick of Lucie Vincent as the freshman registered both of the Stags' goals in this game. The forward ended the match with seven shots taken with four being on target and two of those hitting the back of the cage.

In the first quarter, Fairfield posted the game's first goal, a scoring play that started with solid play in the midfield. After Alex Senior disrupted a Holy Cross pass, she was able to send the ball to Carmel Van Dijk, who carried the ball down the right flank. Once inside 25 yards, she sent the ball to Catalina Ness at the top of the arc, who bounced a pass to the center circle. Vincent flicked the ball past the goalkeeper to give Fairfield its first lead of the game.

Holy Cross would tie the game later in the quarter off a penalty corner which Kendall Blomquist finished for the equalizer in the 13^th minute. From that point, both goalkeepers took charge and turned away a bunch of shots with kick and stick saves.

In the third quarter, Fairfield received a penalty corner six minutes into the period. After Frances Mirabile sent the ball to the top of the circle,  Van Dijk was able to secure the pass before sending the ball to Vincent at the center of the circle. She ripped a shot that was initially deflected by the goalkeeper but continued into the goal for the Stags' second lead of the afternoon.

Rahn finished the game with nine saves including six in the fourth quarter while Holy Cross's Brooke Ross gathered 11 saves.

Fairfield will now prepare for the postseason which will send the top-seeded Stags to the Northeast Conference Championship this weekend. The Stags will play fourth-seeded Wagner College on Friday at 11 am while Saint Francis University and Sacred Heart University will meet in the second semifinal at 2 pm. The two semifinal winners will advance to the championship game on Sunday at noon.