FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey finished its opening weekend with an impressive 4-0 win over the College of the Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon.
Kylie Corcoran paced the offensive with a goal and an assist for her first points on the season.
"Coming off a game like Friday, we wanted to be mindful that we needed another strong effort against Holy Cross," Head Coach
Laura Gebhart said. "For this group, it was about really putting in the effort and sticking to the fundamentals and the basics for this game to be able to piece something together. We were challenged but overall, our effort was there especially facing different types of pressure and formations that we saw two days ago."
The Stags held possession for a good part of the match, dictating tempo throughout the game. Fairfield came out aggressively and kept Holy Cross pinned back inside its half of the pitch with little chance to escape the pressure. The home team garnered four shots in the first 15 minutes with one requiring attention from goalkeeper Mia McCloskey.
The second quarter was the turning point mainly because the Stags continued its relentless attack that kept Holy Cross' back line looking for means to escape. Fairfield broke through for the first of its three second-quarter goals when
Konni Hofmann converted a pass from Corcoran who set up the play with a pass to the center of the circle.
Corcoran doubled the Fairfield lead after accepting
Alice Pifferi's insertion off a penalty corner. She released a shot that was partially deflected by had enough force to continue its path to goal.
Camille Perlov closed out the scoring in the period after
Kaelyn Fogelson carried the ball into the circle and past two defenders before a sending a pass to Perlov on the right side.
With a three-goal lead in hand, the Stags defense continued to keep the Crusaders in check, allowing just two shots in the third quarter to bring the team total to three attempts in 45 minutes. Fairfield's final goal came in the 39
th minute after
Rylee LaLoup too control of the ball in the circle before lifting the ball over the head of the charging goalkeeper to push the lead to 4-0.
Fairfield posted its first clean sheet of the season through the efforts of goalkeepers
Paige Jackson and
Georgia McDade. Jackson played the first 30 minutes of the contest and faced one shot. McDade made her collegiate debut by playing 30 minutes and making two saves to keep the shutout in place.
Caroline Brickley also had a hand in the result, making a defensive save late in the game.
The Stags will have a full week off before returning the pitch, hosting LIU on Sunday, September 6 at 12 pm.
