FAIRFIELD, Conn. – As the regular season winds down, the Fairfield University field hockey team will play its final CAA game on Friday when the Stags travel to nationally-ranked Monmouth University. Both teams are vying for position in the upcoming CAA Championship on November 4 and 6.
Monmouth is the lone unbeaten team in conference play at 4-0 with Fairfield and Northeastern (October 30) still on the docket. Fairfield owns a 4-1 slate with just the Hawks remaining on the conference slate.
The Stags final 10 days of the regular season will be challenging as they face two nationally-ranked teams in #20 Monmouth and #3 UConn (October 30). Four of Fairfield's 17 regular-season games included teams in the top 20 this year.
Head Coach
Laura Gebhart has led her team to a 9-5 overall record so far including a 3-1 decision over Northeastern last Friday. The Stags are unbeaten in the month of October, standing at 5-0 with wins over VCU, William & Mary, Lehigh, and Hofstra.
Fairfield remains one of the top scoring teams in the CAA by averaging 3.2 goals per game, trailing Monmouth (3.5) and Drexel (3.8). Part of the reason for that success inside the circle is the play of
Kylie Corcoran and
Alice Pifferi. Corcoran places fourth in the CAA with her 10 goals while Pifferi, who already holds the career assist record at Fairfield with 29, is the co-leader among CAA student-athletes with nine assists.
Defensively, the Stags are second in the conference for scoring defense by allowing just 1.21 goals per game (17 goals in 14 games). The back line allowed its first goal in five games when Northeastern found the back of the cage, ending Fairfield's scoreless minutes streak at 273 minutes. Goalkeeper
Paige Jackson recorded four straight shutouts as part of the streak which lowered her goals against average to 0.84 which places first in the CAA and eighth nationally.
Monmouth features the reigning CAA defensive player of the week and rookie of the week. Charlie Bowman made three saves in a 5-0 win over William & Mark before posting 12 saves in a one-goal setback against nationally-ranked Virginia a few days later. Maja Schroder took home her second rookie award this year, picking up the game-winning goal and assisting on a second score in the win over William & Mary.
Milla Frye paces the Monmouth offense with 28 points, registering 12 goals and four assists through her 13 appearances. Bowman has seen the majority of minutes this year, owning a 1.42 goals against average with a .759 save percentage off 44 stops.
The Stags will wrap up their weekend with a trip to Providence College, an opponent that holds a 9-5 overall record with a 2-2 mark in Big East play. The Friars are coming off a 3-1 loss to #14 Liberty University, their third match against a nationally-ranked opponent this year. The team defeated #15 Old Dominion University in mid-September but dropped a shootout decision against #7 UConn earlier this month.
Carly van Benten leads the team in scoring with nine goals for 18 points in 14 starts this season while Lily Procaccianti is a close second with 16 points off seven goals and two assists. Ava Porter has guarded the goal for 707 minutes this season, registering a .712 save percentage and a .712 save percentage.
The Stags will finish the regular season on October 30 with an in-state trip to #3 UConn.
