FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Soccer team will embark on their last road trip of the 2018 regular season beginning with a stop in Western New York to take on the Niagara Purple Eagles on Saturday at noon. The Stags are still in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) currently sitting in a tie for seventh-place just three points behind Quinnipiac for that coveted playoff spot.
 
The Stags kept their playoff hopes alive with a second half rally against Saint Peter's on Wednesday night as Fairfield tallied three unanswered second half goals. Brooke Hernon was at the center of the comeback as she recorded her first career multi-goal game in the span of just 56 seconds, which included the eventual game-winning score. Her first goal was a thing of beauty as she looped a shot from the top right side of the 18-yard box and tucked her shot perfectly in the top left corner. Hernon would complete the team's scoring less than a minute later as the 5-2 rookie redirected a header off a corner kick sent in by Alex Madden.
 
Madden would tally her first assist of the season on that score and would also score a goal of her own to tie the game early in the second half. For Madden, that was her 12th goal of the season which leads the MAAC and places her in a tie for fifth on the program's single season scoring list. That total also ranks her in a tie for the 12th most in the NCAA and behind just Albany's Mariah Williams (15) among all players in New England.
 
With 14 points in the conference, Niagara has all but clinched a spot in the MAAC Tournament, holding a 4-3-2 mark in the league as they enter their final game of the season against the Stags. Rookie of the Year candidate Annie Ibey is the team leader with seven goals and 17 points while tying Kelsey Araujo for the team lead with three assists. The Purple Eagles have split their time for the goalkeepers with Shania van Nuland seeing seven appearances with a 1.25 goals against average and a .733 save percentage while Sabrina Locas has made 10 appearances in net with a 1.36 goals against average and a .774 save percentage.
 
The Stags will wrap up their 2018 regular season at Marist on Wednesday at 7pm.