FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's lacrosse team will begin conference play at 2015 regular season MAAC Champion Canisius College on Friday at 4:00 pm. Friday's contest will be streamed live and fans can watch the action on ESPN 3.

Fairfield (4-4) vs. Canisius (2-5): The Stags and Griffins will meet on Friday for the 23rd time in program history. Fairfield is 14-8 against Canisius and won their most recent matchup 9-7 in the MAAC Tournament Championship game last May.

Scouting the Golden Griffins: Canisius is 2-5 this season and have lost three straight games heading into Friday's contest. Most recently, the Griffs dropped a 16-8 decision at Columbia on Monday. Sophomore midfielder Erica Evans leads the team with 20 points and 17 goals. Senior attack Taylor Giglio is second on the team with 17 points off 13 goals and a team-high four assists. Sophomore net minder Rebecca VanLaeken has made six starts for Canisius this season recording 41 saves and an 11.27 goals against average.

Last Time Out: The team dropped their second game in a row at UConn on Saturday, 18-8. The Huskies proved too much to handle outscoring the Stags 10-4 in the final 30 minutes. On offense, the Stags were led by Julieanne Mascera's four goals, followed by Alex Fehmel's two assists and one goal. Colleen Reynolds added an assist and a score, while Maeve Quinn and Brenna Connolly each added a goal.

Racking Up the Points: Two Stags now have double digit point streaks after Saturday's loss at UConn. Julieanne Mascera tallied four goals to bring her streak to 20. And junior Alex Fehmel had three points in the last game and has now tallied at least one point in 29 straight contests.

Hellstein's on Fire: Junior Riley Hellstein 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 31 points and 28 goals this season. The junior also ranks among the nation's best in several statistical categories.

Individual Statistics:

7^th – 1.13 free position goals per game

T-9^th – 3.50 goals per game

T-21^st - .600 free position percentage