FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's lacrosse team travels to Denver this Sunday for a showdown against the Pioneers at 3:00 pm. The Stags have won three in a row and look to make it four in their second to last non-conference game of the season.

Fairfield (4-2) vs. University of Denver (2-4): The Stags and Pioneers will meet on Sunday for the second time in program history. Fairfield is 0-1 against Denver with their last meeting coming 17 years ago to the day (March 13, 1999), falling 6-5.

Scouting the Pioneers: Denver is 2-4 this season and is on a two game skid after falling to James Madison and most recently to Vanderbilt. On Wednesday against the Commodores, Denver dropped a 12-7 decision. Freshman midfielder Kendra Lanuza led the Pioneers with three points off two assists and one goal. Overall, senior midfielder Christa Reese paces the offense with a team-high 15 points and 14 goals. Junior goalkeeper Maddy Stevenson has started all six games in cage making 38 saves and posting an 8.82 goals against average.

Last Time Out: Riley Hellstein led the charge as she set a new career-high in points and goals as the Stags topped New Hampshire 16-6. The junior midfielder recorded nine points while putting away seven goals and tallying two assists.  Not to be outdone she also grabbed a game-high four draw controls.

The defense fought hard and forced 13 Wildcat turnovers. Senior Chelsey Sidaras earned the start in net, making eight saves.

Behind Hellstein on offense was Maeve Quinn with four points (3 goals, 1 assist), Julieanne Mascera with three (3g), and Brenna Connolly with two (2a). Colleen Reynolds, Alex Fehmel, Lily Crager, Erin Mammele, and Taylor Mitchell all finished the day with one point.

MAAC Awards: Junior midfielder Riley Hellstein was named the MAAC Player of the Week, while teammate Lily Crager grabbed Rookie of the Week honors.

Last week, Hellstein scored thirteen goals and added three assists for a total of sixteen points in Fairfield's two games. The junior also recorded eight draw controls, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers.

During the week, Crager scored the first three goals of her Fairfield career as she notched two in the victory against Sacred Heart and one in the win over New Hampshire. The freshman proved super-effective shooting the ball firing off three shots, all resulting in goals.

Racking Up the Points: Three Stags now have double digit point streaks after Saturday's victory over New Hampshire. Maeve Quinn finished with four points to extend her scoring streak to 11. Julieanne Mascera tallied three goals to bring her streak to 18. And junior Alex Fehmel had one assist in the win and has now tallied at least one point in 27 straight contests.

Hellstein's on Fire: Junior Riley Hellstein now has three games scoring at least six goals this season, including a seven goal performance against New Hampshire. In the win, the midfielder had a career-high nine points, also adding two assists on the day. She is Fairfield's leader with 28 points and 25 goals this season. The junior also ranks among the nation's best in several statistical categories.

Individual Statistics:

 Looking Ahead: Fairfield will play much closer to home in their next game playing at UConn on Saturday, March 19 at 1:00 pm.