FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University women's lacrosse team downed Niagara University, 19-7, in their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contest this season on Alumni Field. 

Melanie Raso scored four goals for Fairfield while rookies Riley Hellstein and Alex Fehmel  netted three each. Jamie Leone, Colleen Reynolds, and Jenna Slowey scored two apiece and the Stags also received goals from Julieanne Mascera, Kaitlyn Arnold, and Riley Smith.

Mascera put the Stags on the board early when she scored off a free position shot at 28:05. Two goals each from Leone, Reynolds, and Raso, made a 6-0 run for Fairfield, putting the Stags up 7-0 at 15:47. Niagara scored their first goal of the game when Maria Battista sent the ball in the net off a pass from Erin Patenaude at 14:49.   

After Fehmel answered with her second career goal at 13:14, a set of consecutive goals by Hellstein and Slowey put Fairfield ahead 10-1. The Purple Eagles' Danielle Maio scored off a pass from Carrie-Jo Farrugia at 6:17, making the score 10-2. Back-to-back goals by Raso and Fehmel, at 5:18 and 4:50, pushed the Stags' lead to 12-2. With only 1:07 left in the half, Niagara's Maio netted her second goal of the game, giving Fairfield a 12-3 advantage into halftime.

The Stags came out strong in the second half, scoring the first goal. The Purple Eagles battled back, with their own set of consecutive goals at 24:07 and 23:19, making the score 13-5. At 22:16, Raso tallied her third draw control of the game, tying Fairfield's program record of 141 set by Chloe Mangan.

Fairfield kept the intensity with another 6-0 run, with two goals from Hellstein and one each from Raso, Slowey, Smith, and Arnold. The two back-to-back first collegiate goals from Smith and Arnold, at 10:45 and 8:17, gave Fairfield a 19-5 advantage. In the remaining eight minutes, the Purple Eagles scored two goals, at 5:15 and 3:36, but were unable to catch the Stags. Fairfield defeated Niagara in their first conference contest this season, 19-7.  

The Stags outshot the Purple Eagles 31-15 and had a 22-11 advantage in ground balls. Sophomore Chelsey Sidaras and rookie Caleigh O'Connor split time in the net for Fairfield. Sidaras made one save while O'Connor recorded four. Niagara's Andrea Francisco tallied 10 saves on the day.

It was a group effort from Fairfield with five other rookies making their collegiate debut. Brenna Weil, Kaileen O'Donnell, Sammi Vickers, and Sally O'Toole all saw time for the Stags while Brittany Danielewski added her first collegiate shot.

For the Purple Eagles, Battista tallied three goals, a ground ball, and a draw control while Danielle Maio scored two goals and added an assist. Matecki added a goal and eight draw controls for Niagara.  

Fairfield (6-3) will take MAAC play on the road. The Stags will stop at Iona on April 2 before traveling to Manhattan on April 5.