Field Hockey: Terriers are Set to Play Against Fairfield in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament

Featured Image by Jenny Chen

By Celine Cheung

After beating the second seeded Lafayette College to win the Patriot League Championship, Boston University’s Women’s Field Hockey (8-10, 3-3 PL) will play in the NCAA Field Hockey tournament at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in Princeton, NJ. They will face No. 20 Fairfield University (15-5, 9-0 NEC) in the Opening Round. 

The Terriers won their first Patriot League title in eight years last Saturday and was the third team in the Patriot League to win as the fourth seed. Fairfield won their last league title as a fourth seed in 2001, as an associate member of the league. With BU winning the league tournament, they’re currently on a three game winning streak, which is their longest in two years. Fairfield is also on a three game winning streak and has also won 13 of their last 14 games.

The last two meetings between the Terriers and the Stags occurred in the postseason, with BU winning their most recent one 5-0, in 2017. Historically, the Terriers hold a 10-0 winning streak against Fairfield. Fairfield is returning to the NCAA tournament for the second time in two years.

Patriot League MVP Caroline O’Brien is certainly a player to keep an eye out for in the tournament. As the first player in history to score a hat trick in the Patriot League championship, she also leads the league in points, with 37, and goals, with 15. Molly Driscoll and Nicole Lauro are the second and third leaders in points for the Terriers, with 14 and 13 points respectively.

The Stags are a force to be reckoned with on both the offensive and defensive side. In the NEC league tournament, they had shutouts in both matches, to bring their total shutouts to six this season. Terrier goalkeeper Sophie Ortyl’s save rate of 0.637 will certainly be tested, as Fairfield is also fourth in the nation in scoring at an average of 3.71 goals per game.  

Fairfield is led in scoring by Konni Hofmann, Alex Senior, and Pilar Mengotti. The seniors have 29, 25, and 24 points respectively. The Stags are also heavily accoladed, with the coaching staff receiving NEC Coaching Staff of the Year honors, Kaelyn Fogelson named NEC Rookie of the Year, Catalina Ness earning NEC Midfielder of the Year, and Mengotti praised as the NEC Defensive Player of the Year.

BU is set to face Fairfield in the Opening Round of the NCAA tournament at 2 p.m. on Wednesday November 12 in Princeton, NJ. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.