Fairfield was rewarded Tuesday with the No. 19 ranking by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America with an impressive 6-2-1 overall record and 2-0 in the MAAC.

However, it has not been easy as many of those games have gone down to the wire, with Fairfield barely pulling out the win in the end.

It’s not that the team has not had the opportunities to score, but good play from opposing team’s goalies have kept goals off the boards many times this season.

After back to back overtime games against Hartford (a 1-1 tie) and Dartmouth (a 3-1 win), Fairfield took care of business against Siena, with a dominating offensive and defensive performance in a 3-1 victory, with the only goal for Siena coming in the finals seconds of the game.

The Stags then played another close game against Marist, this time winning with a goal from Sam Bailey ‘08, with only 45 seconds left.

“Our team is still a work in progress.” said Coach Carl Rees. “We have been working very hard in training and with every game we get stronger. The wins this past weekend showed the players that they would be rewarded for hard work.”

“We have been taking the games one at a time.” said senior captain Mike Troy. “We hope to achieve our goal of winning the MAAC and we can do that only if we continue to work hard and play together as a team.”

“Our team is playing really well right now, but we need to continue to work to hard.”

The team is well balanced, with many talented players who can play multiple positions and players who can come off the bench and step right into the action.

“Our main strength is our depth, as well as our willingness to work.” said Rees. “We have a lot of talent on this team and all of our guys are tough, mentally and physically, which makes a strong team.”

The Stags have received solid contributions from many different players throughout the season.

Against Dartmouth, it was Paul McQuade ‘10 and Aldo Hope ‘09 and who linked up to score the game winning goal in overtime. McQuade added his first goal of the season in Friday night’s win against Siena, to his three assists, giving him five points on the season.

“It was great to get that goal,” McQuade joked after the game. “The guys had been getting on me for not scoring yet.”

“It was a real team effort, we all played together and got a big win.”

On Sunday afternoon it was Bailey who was the hero, scoring a goal on a diving header to give the Stags the win over conference rival Marist.

Bailey also scored the second goal in the Stags’ win over Siena. He was named the MAAC Player of the Week because of those two goals, and his eight points on the season is tied for seventh best in the conference.

Alex Cunliffe ‘07 added his fifth goal of the season against Siena, moving him up into second place in both the conference goals and points list.

“While the individual accomplishments are an added bonus, it is not really what is important to us as a team.” said Rees. “Winning is what matters to us and all of our guys know that. No one on this team cares about the individual statistics, it’s all about achieving our team goals.”

The offense is not the only part of the team that has been playing well for the Stags. The defense, Troy, junior Tom Skara, sophomore Tom Clements and junior goalkeeper Jon Paul Francini, has been strong and physically tough throughout the entire season.

The Stags allowed only three goals in its past four games, and one of those came at the end of the Siena game, after Francini and most of the starters had been pulled.

Francini who picked up his first career shutout Sunday against Marist, has 33 saves and a 0.88 goals against average. Against Siena and Marist, Francini did not allow any goals in 171 minutes played and was rewarded with the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week award.

The Stags’ regular season home unbeaten streak reached 13 games with the win over Marist and while most of the credit belongs with the solid play of the team, some of the credit goes to the Fairfield fans who have been coming to the games.

“The fans have really been like a 12th player,” said McQuade. “They have been very loud and supportive of us and we really appreciate it.”

The Stags face off against Yale in New Haven on October 4 and then return to MAAC play at Iona October 7. Fairfield returns to Lessing Field for a game against Harvard on October 9 at 7:00.