FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's lacrosse team hosts Niagara on Saturday at 12:00 pm on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. The Stags will honor nine seniors before their final home game, with a senior day ceremony beginning at 11:45 am.
Fairfield (7-7, 3-3 MAAC) vs. Niagara (8-7, 4-2 MAAC): The Stags and Purple Eagles will meet on Saturday for the 19th time in program history. Fairfield is 18-0 against Niagara. Last season, Fairfield topped the Purple Eagles 16-8 on April 4th.
Scouting the Purple Eagles: Niagara is 4-2 in the MAAC this season, and sits in a three way tie for third place in the conference standings. Most recently, the Purple Eagles topped Siena 14-8 on April 20th. Freshman Caroline Crump is the team leader in goals (29), assists (14), and points (43). Behind her in scoring, are two upperclassmen in Taylor Wolf and Sarah Arndt with 29 and 26 points respectively. Junior Andrea Francisco has made all 15 starts in cage for Niagara, posting a 9.97 goals against average with 98 saves on the season.
Last Time Out: The team bested the Quinnipiac Bobcats, 17-3, to move to 3-3 in MAAC play. Eleven Fairfield players got in on the scoring action, with five players getting their first goals of the season, and three notching their first career goals. The Stags jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Quinnipiac was able to get their first score at the 25:24 mark. After the Bobcats got their first, the Stags tacked on the next eight goals to build an 11-1 advantage in the first half. The Fairfield defense allowed just one goal in the second half, for a total of three on the day, their best defensive effort all season long. The offense also racked up 17 goals on the day, the highest output this season.
Racking Up the Points: Two Stags now have double digit point streaks after Wednesday's win over Quinnipiac. Julieanne Mascera recorded five points to bring her streak to 26. And junior Alex Fehmel had three goals in the last game and has now tallied at least one point in 35 straight contests.
Sensational Seniors: Saturday's game will mark the final regular season home game for nine Fairfield seniors. Kelly Camardo, Cristina DeVita, Jenna Fuchs, Shelby Iapoce, Melissa Laible, Julieanne Mascera, Maeve Quinn, Colleen Reynolds, and Chelsey Sidaras have been a part of 43 wins over the past four years at Fairfield University. As a team they captured the 2014 MAAC regular season championship, the 2015 MAAC tournament championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Looking Ahead: The Stags will close out the regular season at Manhattan on Wednesday, April 27. With a 3-3 MAAC record, Fairfield has clinched a spot in the 2016 MAAC Championship playoffs with seeding to be determined by the outcome of the final two games.
Run with the Stags: Fairfield lacrosse individual game tickets are available. For more information and for group rates, please contact the athletics ticket office at StagsTickets@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4136 or visit FairfieldStags.com/TIX.
Can't Make it to the Game?: All Fairfield University lacrosse home games will be streamed live on FairfieldStags.TV. Fans can also follow along with live stats here.
