FAIRFIELD, CT – The Fairfield University field hockey team earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship on Sunday afternoon. The Stags will travel to Boston University on Wednesday, November 11 for their NCAA Tournament matchup.
“Getting together for tonight’s first ever selection show was exciting,” Head Coach Jackie Kane said. “It was really awesome to see Fairfield University on the TV next to Syracuse, North Carolina, and so many great programs. It gives credibility to our program and validates all the hard work our student-athletes have done since August.”
Coach Kane led her team to the MAAC title with a 2-0 victory over second-seeded Quinnipiac University earlier today. The fourth-seeded Stags advanced to the MAAC title game after knocking off top-seeded and host Monmouth University by a 2-1 count on November 6.
Boston University (14-6 overall) enters the tournament after winning its second straight Patriot League championship, edging American University by a 2-1 margin. The Terriers finished the Patriot League season unbeaten in regular-season play at 6-0 and placed 14th in the national poll. Sofi Laurito leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and three assists for 31 points. Goalkeeper Cammy Jensen has played all but 10 minutes this season, posting a 1.84 goals against average with 66 saves in her 20 appearances.
“It helps having some familiarity with Boston University,” Coach Kane said. “We haven’t played them for two years but hopefully we will be able to pick up where we left off. I think it helps being familiar with an opponent especially when it comes to preparation for the game itself.”
The Stags enter the national tournament with a 9-9 overall record, winning five of their last six games. Ann Burgoyne paces the offense with 19 goals and two assists for 40 points, followed by Ruth Smalbraak and Julie dePaeuw with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Goalkeeper Caitlin Bennett posted her second shutout of the season in the MAAC championship game which lowered her goals against average to 2.59. She has 94 saves in her 17 appearances, averaging just over five saves per game.
The winner of the Fairfield University-Boston University game will play second-seeded University of North Carolina on November 14.
Fairfield went to the NCAA tournament one other time in the program’s history, earning the right with a two-game sweep in the 2001 Patriot League Tournament. In déjà vu manner, the Stags entered that tournament as the number four seed with three conference losses on their slate. And, Fairfield won its semifinal game over top-seeded College of the Holy Cross by a 2-1 score and followed up with a 2-0 victory over the second-seeded Lafayette College to win the title.
After capturing the Patriot League that season, Fairfield was sent to the University of Maryland, the number two seed in the 2001 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. The Stags fell to the Terrapins by a 7-1 count as Iza Kotowski scored the team’s lone goal that afternoon.