FAIRFIELD, Conn. ? The Monmouth University field hockey team defeated Fairfield, 2-1 on Saturday afternoon for their first victory of the season. The win is the first career triumph for first year head coach Carli Figlio, and it was made possible by a pair of goals from sophomore Kelly Crist (Belford, N.J./Middletown North).

“We played very well today and it is good to see results from all the hard work our team has put in,” said Figlio. “We will look to build on this win with the Northeast Conference portion of our schedule coming up.”

Crist put Monmouth on the board first as she scored off an assist from Megan Kubek (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) at the 17:44 mark of the first half. Fairfield was able to tie the game at 1-1 just before halftime when Brittany Bates scored off an assist from Emily Janis, and the game remained tied until late in the second half. With ten minutes to go in the game, Crist scored again, this time off an assist from Enza Mazza (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) at the 65:54 mark to give the Hawks the 2-1 lead.

Sophomore Megan Smith (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) made one save in goal to earn the win, the first of her career.

Monmouth outshot Fairfield 9-3, including 8-1 in the first half, and also held a 7-4 advantage on penalty corners, including 6-1 in the first half. Both MU and Fairfield now have identical 1-7 records.  

Monmouth returns to action on Friday, September 28 when they begin NEC play by hosting Sacred Heart at 4:00 p.m.