Freshman Brianna Smith scored two goals and the team chipped in two more as the Canisius College women's soccer team defeated the Fairfield Stags 4-2 in Fairfield Conn., Friday night. The Golden Griffins improved to 10-6-0 overall and 4-2-0 in the MAAC with the victory.

"We had a great offensive effort tonight," Canisius college head coach Jim Wendling said. "The girls had a strong week of practice and really went after it tonight."

Canisius junior Kelly Reinwald opened up the scoring in the 29th minute as she received a long pass from fellow junior Jenny Griffin and fired it home for the 1-0 lead. That score would remain that way heading into halftime as the Stags outshot the Griffs 10-6 in the first stanza. Shortly after the start of the second half, Smith would break onto the score sheet with her ninth goal of the year after she took passes from Reinwald and Griffin to increase the lead to 2-0 in the 53rd minute. Fairfield would fight back as Carly Beyar chipped a shot past senior goalkeeper Lesley Ivinac to put the Stags on the board with the score standing at 2-1.

Griffin continued her masterful night by netting her fourth goal of the season with the assist going to senior Kasey Makowski and Reinwald. However, the Stags refused to go quietly, as they would score in the 77th minute as Shannon Fay headed a pass into the upper corner of the net to cut the lead to 3-2. Smith gave the Blue and Gold a cushion in the 83rd minute with her second score of the game as she found a loose ball in front, spun around and fired it past the inside post to seal the team's MAAC road win.

Three Griffs recorded four points in Friday's contest as Smith scored two goals, and Griffin and Rienwald both scored one goal and each added two assists. Ivinac made the start in net for the Griffs as she made nine saves, allowing two goals on the night.

The women's soccer team will play the second match of its two-game MAAC road trip when the Griffs square off with the Iona Gaels in New Rochelle, N.Y., on Sunday afternoon. Game time is set for 12 p.m.

Game Notes: With the win against Fairfield, Canisius improves its record to 4-15-1 in the all-time series against the Stags... With her two-goal performance, Smith is the first freshman to record a double-digit goal total since 2008, when Kelly Reinwald accomplished the feat by scoring 11 times... Jenny Griffin continues her strong offensive play as she has recorded a point in five-straight contests... Reinwald's goal in the 29th minute marks only the third time this year that the Griffs have posted a first-half tally.