FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The women’s soccer team advanced to its second-straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Final with a 2-0 victory over Fairfield on the Stags home field, Friday evening. The second seeded Purple Eagles will face No. 4 Siena, Sunday, at 1:30 p.m., on Lessing Field for the 2006 MAAC Championship.

"I am very proud of the effort defensively that we have given the last few games," head coach Peter Veltri said. "If we are going to succeed on Sunday, we are going to have to play sound defensively."

With the win, freshman goalie Sarah Stephens (Toledo, Ohio) recorded her third-straight shutout, the second in a row against Fairfield, and extended her career-high scoreless streak to 348 minutes. Stephens made six saves, including a penalty-shot stop in the 85th minute.

Both Niagara players named to the First Team All-MAAC tallied goals in the semifinal win, as senior Emily Montgomery (Oshawa, Ont.) scored in the 13th minute, jumping on the Stags early, and junior Brittany Bisnott (Brampton, Ont.) added an insurance goal in the 81st minute.

After a foul early in the first half, sophomore midfielder Shaylyn Lawrence (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) took the free kick and sent it towards the box. Montgomery got her head on it and sent it across the box, beating MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Brett Maron high for the 1-0 lead. Maron was the conference’s top goalie, leading the MAAC in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts.

Just two minutes after the goal, the Stags countered with a scoring chance of their own, but Stephens turned away Fairfield’s best chance of the first half.

"I think we came out a little flat," Veltri added, "but once we scored, it changed the game. We picked it up and played a lot better."

Bisnott gave the Purple Eagles some breathing room with her 19th goal of the season. The All-MAAC forward ranks second in the nation with 1.06 goals per game.

Niagara will look for its first postseason tournament title when it plays in the championship for the third time in four years. No. 4 Siena defeated the top-seeded Greyhounds from Loyola, 1-0, in the first semifinal, to advance to Sunday’s title game. The 1:30 game will be broadcast live on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network. The winner of the 2006 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship will earn an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.