FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- With an opening day win in hand, the Fairfield University field hockey team will turn its focus onto one of its most formidable opponents on the 2023 schedule. The Stags will travel to the University at Albany for a neutral site game with University of Iowa on Friday afternoon. The Hawkeyes earned the number seven slot in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) preseason national poll. 

The Series

• Fairfield and Iowa will meet for the third time in their program histories with the Hawkeyes winning the previous two meetings. The first meeting took place at University Field with Iowa posting a 3-1 win. The Hawkeyes scored just 54 seconds into the game before the Stags tied it up in the third minute of the contest courtesy of Emily Janis' goal following a penalty corner. The score remained tied at the end of the first half but the visitors scored a goal in the 60th and 66th minute to take control. In the 2016 meeting, Fairfield traveled to Iowa City where the home team posted a 4-1 win. The Hawkeyes scored the first four goals of the game before Hanna Pike found the back of the cage in the 64th minute to put the Stags on the scoreboard.

About Fairfield

• The Stags opened the 2023 campaign with a 4-0 road win against Hofstra University on Tuesday afternoon. The four goals were the most the team scored in a season opener since its 6-2 victory against Colgate University at home in 2015 and the most scored on the road for a season opener since the team's 1984 decision over Rhode Island by the same 4-0 score.
• Lucie Vincent made the most of her Fairfield debut by picking up a team-best three points against Hofstra, setting up the team's third goal before netting one of her own in the 50th minute. She was one of four different goal scorers in the game, joining Konni Hofmann, Erin McGinley, and Alex Senior. 
• Stags goalkeeper Payton Rahn made four saves against Hofstra to register her second career shutout. The junior also earned a shutout against Holy Cross in last year's home opener, kicking away five shots in the win. It's the first shutout in a season opener since the 2020-21 spring campaign with Fairfield opening with a 3-0 decision over Albany.
• Fairfield enjoyed a slight edge in shots against Hofstra, outshooting the Pride by an 11-10 count on Tuesday. The Stags owned an 8-2 record in games in which they outshot the opposition with a 3-7 mark in games in which they had a disadvantage in shots last season. 

About Iowa

• The Hawkeyes opened the season with a pair of wins, defeating Wake Forest and top-ranked North Carolina as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Iowa has defeated the number one team in the country in each of the last three years.
• Dionne van Aalsum earned the Freshman Player of the Week after registering back-to-back multi-goal games during the opening week. Mia Magnotta collected the Defensive Player of the Week after the goalkeeper recorded her first career shutout against Wake Forest and made five saves in the win against North Carolina.
• Iowa returned 14 student-athletes from last year's team, including seven starters, that finished with a 12-8 overall record and advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2022 NCAA Championship.

Up Next

• Fairfield will return home for their first game on campus, hosting Bryant University on September 4 at University Field. The game is slated for an 11 am start.