FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey team opens the 2024 season on the road, heading north to Bryant University for a Friday afternoon contest with the Bulldogs. The match is slated for a 3 pm start.
The Stags are coming off a Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season title after going unbeaten in league play a year ago. Fairfield went 7-0 against NEC foes which gave the team a 19-2 record against conference opponents over the last three seasons.
But Head Coach
Jackie Kane knows that every season brings forth new challenges and she has spent the preseason getting this team ready for the rigors of the 2024 campaign. That campaign begins on Friday, August 30 when the Stags travel to Bryant.
The team will need to find a way to replace three of the top five scorers from a year ago but that shouldn't be too difficult with the talent that the Stags have on this year's roster. Junior
Alex Senior comes back to campus as the team's top returning scorer with eight goals and two assists for 18 points.
Augustina Casteluchi and
Erin McGinley were also double-digit scorers from the 2023 season. Casteluchi posted 11 points off four goals and three assists while McGinley netted 10 points off five goals including one game-winning shot. Fairfield also received offensive support form
Pilar Mengotti who added four goals and one assist for nine points.
The middle third of the pitch will retain the experience of
Noor Hellemans,
Konni Hofmann, and Sammy
Samantha Saxon who will return to patrol the middle third of the pitch.
Mengotti will join with
Madison Milhous and
Catherine Fitzgerald to anchor the Stags back line this year. Milhous captured the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award after the trio headed a unit that did not make it easy for the opposition to score goals, allowing just 8.2 shots per game during the regular-season (139 in 17 games).
The Stags also welcome back goalkeepers
Payton Rahn and
Gabby Gober, both earning playing time in the Fairfield goal during 2023. Rahn finished 2023 with a 1.12 goals against average which placed ninth in the nation and made 63 saves for a .768 save percentage, tying for 12
th in the nation. Gober allowed just one goal in her time on the pitch, finishing the season with a 0.82 goals against average.
Emily Streib and
Paige Jackson will both add depth to the position as they join the Stags for the first time this year.
Bryant comes off an 8-9 overall record and a 2-6 America East mark from a year ago, winning its final three matches against Hofstra, Stanford, and UC-Davis. Natalie Griffin is the team's top returning scorer with 11 points, registering three goals and five assists over her 17 starts last year. The Bulldogs will have two newcomers holding down the goalkeeper duties, namely Sara DeSousa and Maud van Lierop.
The Stags will open the 2024 home portion of their schedule next weekend when they host a pair of non-conference games. Fairfield opens by hosting the College of the Holy Cross on Friday, September 6 before welcoming La Salle University on Sunday, September 8. The two matches are the first of 10 home matches this season.
