FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After spending nearly a month on the road, the Fairfield University field hockey team will make its return to University Field this weekend. The Stags, who haven't played on their home pitch since September 7, will host a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) games with Sacred Heart University coming to campus on Friday, October 3 and the University of New Haven on Sunday, October 5.

Head Coach Laura Gebhart watched her team start the NEC slate with three straight wins including a sweep of Merrimack College and Stonehill College last weekend. Now, the Stags will benefit with six home games left on their docket before hosting the 2025 Northeast Conference Championship in November.

If there is one way to describe this team, it would have to be balanced. Last weekend, the Stags scored six goals against Merrimack with five different student-athletes finding the back of the cage. In the 5-0 decision over Stonehill, four Fairfield players comprised the team's goal total.  With that said, this season has already seen 14 Stags score at least one point with 11 of those individuals having a tally in the goal column.

Pilar Mengotti and Alex Senior have paced the Stags' offense with five goals each, two of the team's eight multiple goal scorers so far. Freshman Kaelyn Fogelson has enjoyed a quick start to her Fairfield career as the freshman has already registered three goals and two assists for eight points.

While the offense has been smooth, the team's defense has been gelling as of late. The defensive unit picked up a pair of shutouts last weekend and now has three in nine games. Goalkeeper Payton Rahn joined forces with Paige Jackson last weekend to record the combined shutouts in both of those games.

Rahn checks into this weekend with 1.68 goals against average and a .659 save percentage. Jackson earned her first minutes of the season in those games, making one save with allowing a goal in 45 minutes of work.

Sacred Heart brings a 3-6 overall record and a 1-2 NEC slate into the weekend after dropping a pair of one-goal games last weekend. Wagner picked up a 1-0 win on the SHU campus while Rider collected a 2-1 decision over the Pioneers in New Jersey.

Like Fairfield, Sacred Heart comes at opponents from many different approaches, seeing five Pioneer players tally at least two goals this season. Emma Brayford leads the team with three goals while five additional student-athletes have two goals each. Brianna Cooper has seen a majority of the minutes with a 1.36 goals against average and a .722 save percentage.

New Haven starts the weekend looking for its first win of the season, starting with Friday's match up at Merrimack College. The Chargers have just four home games on their 14-game schedule.

Jalia Cooper and Erin Smith each have a goal this season with Emma Beaujouan adding one assist on the stat sheet. Three goalkeepers have logged minutes for New Haven this year with Anne Marie Martin getting the nod in five of the team's eight games so far. She has 42 saves to her credit and averages just over eight stops per contest.

Following this weekend's home dates, the Stags will return to the road for a pair of games at Hofstra University on Friday, October 10 and the University of Vermont on Sunday, October 12.