FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey team hosts a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) games this weekend, welcoming Sacred Heart University on Friday afternoon with Saint Francis University completing the home stand on Sunday afternoon.

About Fairfield

• The Stags have won their last three games, the second time this season that the team has posted three consecutive victories. Fairfield's current run includes a one-goal decision over Villanova in overtime, a 5-1 win over Stonehill in the NEC opener, and a 3-1 victory over Ivy League foe Columbia. The team has won six of its last seven games since dropping a result to former top-ranked University of Iowa on September 1.
• With this weekend's schedule, the Stags will play six of its next seven contests against NEC opponents with the lone exception coming on October 15 at the University of Maine. Fairfield has won six of eight dates against non-conference opponents with two more still on the docket – Maine and the College of the Holy Cross (October 29).
• Carmel Van Dijk leads the team in scoring with 10 points, netting three goals and adding four assists to her total. She has scored at least one point in five of the team's nine contests including the game-winning goal in double overtime against Villanova and an assist on the game-winning goal at Yale. She has two multi-scoring games this season with two assists against Bryant and two goals versus Stonehill.
• Payton Rahn returned to the lineup last weekend and put together two solid performances. She opened the weekend with four saves against Stonehill, including two in the fourth quarter. The junior came back with an eight-save afternoon versus Columbia, adding three stops in the final quarter. This season, Rahn has accumulated 32 saves in eight appearances and sports a .762 save percentage with a 1.25 goals against average.

About Sacred Heart

• The Pioneers start this week with a 2-6 overall record after edging Quinnipiac University by a 2-1 score last Sunday. The team opens NEC play this week with a rescheduled meeting with LIU on October 4 followed the Stags on October 6 and Wagner on October 8. Sacred Heart also picked up a win against Colgate University earlier in the month, a 4-2 result on the road.
• Isabelle Chamberlain paces the Pioneer offense with five goals and two assists for 12 points, followed by Madelyn Kidd and Claire Skumurski with two goals and four points each. Amelia Pellegrini scored her first goal of the season on her first shot of the campaign which proved to be the deciding goal against Quinnipiac. Goalkeeper Samantha Maresca has played all but 11 minutes for the Pioneers, registering 64 saves for an 8.0 save per game average.

About Saint Francis

• Saint Francis opened this week with a 6-5 overall record and a 1-0 mark in NEC play, defeating Wagner College by a 3-0 count to start the conference slate. The Red Flash followed up with a 3-2 win against Georgetown later in the weekend. The team begins the week with a road game at Rider University on Friday before arriving in Fairfield on Sunday.
• Three student-athletes have reached 10 points this season, namely Marie Sattler, Eva Valentini, and Dolores Zavaleta. Sattler paces the offense with six assists while Valentini and Zavaleta are the team's top goal scorers with four each. Goalkeeper Amber Bryan has seen the majority of minutes so far, posting a 1.16 goals against average with a .700 save percentage.  

Up Next

• The Stags return to the road next weekend with a road trip to Wagner College on October 13 for a conference match up followed by a run to the University of Maine on October 15 for an afternoon meeting.