FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Junior midfielder Caitlin Delaney tied a season-high with four goals Wednesday as the Sacred Heart women's lacrosse team dropped its home opener to the Fairfield Stags 14-10 at Campus Field.

Fairfield (3-2) took control of the game right from the start, taking a 5-0 lead in the first 6:41 of the first half. Sacred Heart got on the board with 20:35 to play in the half, as Avery Farhat assisted on a Pearce goal. Liljeberg and Pearch then scored on back-to-back free position shots to make the score 5-3 with 14:38 remaining. Riley Hellstein scored two straight for the Stags to extend their lead to four with 5:07 to play in the first, with Fairfield taking an 8-4 lead into halftime.

Sacred Heart (1-3) cut the deficit to three early in the second half. Goals by Delaney and Joseph made the score 9-6 with 23:46 remaining in the game. After the Stags scored two unanswered to go up 11-6, the Pioneers responded with two straight of their own. Once again, it was Delaney and Joseph doing the scoring as Delaney's third goal of the game made the score 11-8 with 15:30 to play. Fairfield had one more run in them, as Hellstein scored three straight goals to make the score 14-8 with 4:32 to go.

Fairfield outshot Sacred Heart 24-21 for the game, and held a 16-12 edge in groundballs. The Pioneers scored on all four of their free position shots, while the Stags were 2-for-3. Hellstein led all players with six goals and seven points. Alex Fehmel had five points for Fairfield on three goals and two assists.

The Pioneers go on the road Sunday for a 1 p.m. game at UMass Lowell.