FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey will make their first appearance in the CAA Championship this weekend. The top-seeded Stags will play fourth-seeded Northeastern University on Wednesday, November 4 beginning at noon. The championship is hosted by Drexel University. Monmouth University and Drexel will face off in the second semifinal match scheduled for 3 pm.

In its first season in the CAA, Fairfield finished in a three-way tie for the regular-season championship, joining Drexel University and Monmouth University for that distinction with 5-1 records in CAA play. The Stags garnered the top seed based on tie breakers that also placed Monmouth in the second seed and Drexel in the third seed.

Head Coach Laura Gebhart will look to lead the Stags to their third consecutive NCAA tournament berth with a pair of wins this week. The Stags advanced to the national tournament in each of the last two seasons as a member of the NEC. Last year, Fairfield earned its second NCAA Championship win with a 1-0 opening round decision over Boston University before falling to second-seed and host Princeton University in a first-round match.

This season, Fairfield finished the regular season with a 10-7 overall record which included four matches against nationally-ranked teams – Syracuse University, Yale University, Monmouth University, and UConn. Fairfield and Northeastern met during the regular season with the Stags coming away with a 3-1 win on October 16.

Kylie Corcoran scored the team's last goal in that win against Northeastern. She paces the Fairfield offense with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points, scoring her last goal in the team's match up with #3 UConn. Rylee LaLoup also reached the 20-point for the season with her nine goals and two assists.

The Stags have used a goalkeeper tandem this season comprised of Paige Jackson and Georgia McDade. Jackson ranks nationally with her 0.95 goals against average in addition to her .727 save percentage. McDade sports a 2.23 goals against average with a .679 save percentage this year.

Northeastern enters championship week with a 6-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in CAA play. The Huskies are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to Monmouth University in the regular-season finale. Amelia Albers and Maggie Lundy each scored a goal in the Monmouth match.

Alex Mega leads the team in scoring with seven goals and six assists for 20 points while Albers is next in line with her four goals and five assists for 13 points. Lundy tallied her fourth goal of the campaign in the Monmouth match. Aiko Price has handled the goalkeeper duties for most of the season, sporting a 1.97 goals against average with a .717 save percentage off 71 saves.

Monmouth brings a 10-6 overall record into this week's action, playing three nationally-ranked teams in the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia, and Harvard University over its final six regular-season games. Milla Frye owns the top scoring total on the team with 32 points, registering 14 goals and four assists in her 16 games. Charlie Bowman has held down the goalkeeping duties this year, recording a 1.67 goals against average with a .763 save percentage including 71 saves in 16 games.

The latest NFHCA national poll places Drexel University in the 20^th slot based on its 15-3 overall record. The Dragons have won eight straight matches since October 4 and 11 of their last 12 outings. Valentine Van Hellemont sits on top of the statistics sheet with 16 goals and 12 assists for 44 points in 18 matches, just one point ahead of Fleur Hamers mark of 43 points (19 goals, 5 assists). Halle Geiger has spent the majority of minutes in the Drexel goal, showing a 1.31 goals against average with a .773 save percentage off 68 stops.

The two semifinal winners will meet on Friday, November 6 in Philadelphia. Game time is scheduled for 3 pm. The winner of the CAA Championship will advance to the NCAA Championship which begins Wednesday, November 11.