WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ — Monmouth suffered its first loss in conference play Friday in its regular season finale at So Sweet A Cat field, 3-2 in overtime against visiting Fairfield.
In its first season in the Coastal Athletic Association, the Stags improved to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in the CAA and all but clinched the top seed in the postseason, along with a share of the CAA Regular Season title after the upset over the No. 20 nationally ranked Hawks.
Monmouth (9-5, 4-1) had an inconsistent performance in the loss.
Milla Frye got the hosts on the board first late in the first quarter on an impressive individual effort. The junior weaved past defenders into the circle before diving to get her shot off past Fairfield goalie Paige Jackson (10 saves) for the game's first goal. It was the first shot of the afternoon for the Hawks in the 11th minute, as the Stags tallied more shots in the half, 8-3.
The visitors knotted the game at a goal apiece three minutes into the second quarter, as Camille Perlov scored the team's first of the afternoon with Kaelyn Fogelson getting credited on the assist.
The two teams went into the final 15 minutes of regulation still knotted at 1-1 before Alicia Vanderldye put away the go-ahead goal a minute into the fourth period.
Lilly Ricks earned a penalty corner for her side, finding the foot of a Stags defender.
Lauren Relik inserted to
Luisa Schlueter, who placed a pass down for Vanderlyde who lasered her fifth goal of the season into the back of the cage for the go-ahead score.
Monmouth held tightly onto the one-goal advantage until the last three minutes of play. Fairfield pulled Jackson in net and the extra field player gave the Stags the boost they needed. After earning a penalty corner, Alice Pifferi put a shot on target, which was saved by Hawks goalie
Charlie Bowman, but the Hawks struggled to clear, and Alyse Wanchisen snuck in from the front post to find the loose ball and place it into the back of the net for the score.
Gallery: (10-23-2026) Field Hockey vs. Fairfield 10/23/26
The game-winner mirrored the game-tying goal for Fairfield. Eight minutes into overtime, the Stags inserted on another penalty corner and capitalized once again. Bowman again went down and made the initial stop off her pads, but Monmouth couldn't clear in front of net and Pifferi scored on the rebound to lift her team to the 3-2 win.
Fairfield held the slight advantage in shots, 17-16 with the Hawks generating more shots on goal, 12-11. Both teams were even in corners with five apiece, with all five for the hosts coming in the second half and overtime.
Bowman finished with eight saves in the defeat. Vanderlyde led the team with four shots, followed by
Éabha Curran and
Milla Frye with three apiece.
The loss snaps Monmouth's nine-game winning streak in regular season CAA play, dating back to the 2025 season. The Hawks have two games left before the postseason, traveling to Cambridge, Massachusetts to take on No. 5 Harvard Sunday at noon before ending with a CAA clash against Northeastern in Boston Oct. 30 at 3 p.m.
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