FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey team turns its attention to Northeast Conference (NEC) play this weekend as it opens its conference slate with a road game against Wagner College on Friday afternoon.
Friday will be the first of five consecutive NEC games for the Stags, a run that includes three road matches and a pair of home dates. Fairfield will not return to non-conference play until it makes the trip to Hofstra University on October 10.
The Stags begin their defense of their 2025 NEC Championship with the Wagner match, Fairfield's fifth conference title. The team brings a 2-4 overall record into the Friday's action which includes a pair of Ivy League setbacks against Columbia and Brown last weekend.
Over the weekend,
Pilar Mengotti scored her team-leading fourth goal, finding the back of the cage in the Columbia match. It was the third game in which she scored a goal this season, highlighted by a two-goal set against Villanova. She currently leads the NEC in scoring with four goals in six games for an average of .667 goals per game.
Goalkeeper
Payton Rahn also ranks among the conference leaders with her 2.03 goals against average, a rate that places second among all NEC goalkeepers. She is one of five student-athletes to have a shutout this season, earning the clean sheet against Lehigh. She has 21 saves in six matches for an average of 3.5 per contest.
Wagner brings a 1-4 overall record into this Friday's match, picking up a win over Lehigh in its third game of the season. Natalie McGivern was responsible for both goals, scoring both goals just four minutes apart in the third quarter. Saar van Dalen made five saves in the match to secure the shutout.
McGivern is the team's top scorer with three goals over five dates, slightly higher than Floortje Leunisse's goal and two assists for four points. van Dalen had played every minute in the Wagner goal, sporting a 3.60 goals against average with 27 saves for an average of 5.4 stops per contest.
Following the Wagner match, Fairfield will remain in NEC play with a pair of road games next weekend. The Stags open with a match up at Merrimack College on Friday, September 26 before heading to Stonehill College on Sunday, September 28. Fairfield does not return home until it hosts Sacred Heart University on October 3 and the University of New Haven on October 5.
