FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team will host Canisius University on Saturday afternoon at Lessing Field. The match is slated for a 1 pm start. The Stags will honor their graduate student and senior student-athletes prior to the kickoff.

Fairfield returns to Metro Conference play after taking a brief break with last Tuesday's non-conference date with Yale University. The Stags and the Bulldogs played to a 1-1 draw with both teams scoring a first-half goal.

For Fairfield, Massimo Murania posted his first goal of the season by converting a penalty kick in the 19^th minute. Several Stags earned their first career start in the match, including goalkeeper John DiStefano. The freshman made his second appearance as a Stag and made five saves over his 90 minutes of work.

With the draw, Fairfield's record stands at 8-2-3 overall which goes along with the team's 6-1-0 mark in the Metro Conference. The Stags currently occupy the top spot in the conference standings with 18 points, seven better than Quinnipiac University (3-1-2) and Rider University (3-2-2).

Freshman Cristiano Carlos holds the team lead in scoring with 16 points, tallying team highs in both goals with five and assists with six. He has posted a point in nine of his 12 appearances this year. His six assists is a co-leading total among all Metro Conference student-athletes while his five goals place him in the top 10 within the conference.

Cristian Ortiz and Cameron Gerber round out the Stags' top three scorers with Ortiz standing second with 10 points off four goals and two assists. Gerber is not far behind with nine points, posting four goals and one assist.

Goalkeeper Evan Chomow has spent all but one game for Fairfield, owning an 8-2-2 record with four clean sheets. He owns a 0.92 goals against average with a .788 save percentage, making 41 saves in his 12 appearances.

Canisius begins a two-game road trip with Saturday's match before finishing up the regular season at home against Niagara. Following its meeting with Fairfield, the team will move on to Merrimack College on October 31.

Romero Nicolazzo is responsible for nearly half of the team's goal, sending six shots to the back of the net this year. Gael Arceo also had multiple goals, scoring two goals for four points. Noah Baumslag ranks second among his teammates with seven points which come off a goal and a team-best five assists. Preston Harold has spent most of the minutes in the Golden Griffs goal, possessing a 2.38 goals against average with a .620 save percentage.

Following Saturday's home match, the Stags will take to the road for the final time during the regular season with a trip to Niagara University on Saturday, October 31. Fairfield finishes its regular-season on November 4 when the team hosts Sacred Heart University at Lessing Field.