Freshman Nikki Stanton battles for the ball against Marist.
The women’s soccer team entered the weekend with a pair of home MAAC games against undefeated conference opponents. Both Siena and Marist boasted 2-0 records while the Stags won their only MAAC appearance to date, against Iona.
On Friday, regulation and two overtimes wasn’t enough to give a winner, as Fairfield and the Red Foxes played 110 minutes to a 1-1 draw.
Marist scored first at 17:34 in the first half, but the Stags responded when senior Adrienne Boyer lofted a corner to sophomore Bri Miller who pushed it into the back of the net.
Fairfield nearly won in overtime as junior Nicole Cavallaro headed a ball into the upper corner of the goal, but Marist goalie Jamie Balzarini was able to just tip the ball away.
“Friday was definitely a tough game. Giving up goals early, or first, is always very difficult to come back from,” said sophomore goalie Kelly Boudreau.
The Stags again gave up a goal first on Sunday, falling behind 2-0 early in the second half. Fairfield out shot Siena 8-1 in the first half, but entered the half tied. Fairfield would narrow the lead after a Stags’ player was fouled in the box and Boyer hit a shot into the right-hand corner of the net with 10 minutes left. But the Stags would be unable to equal the score.
“I thought we dominated the first half,” said Boudreau. “We need to cut down on silly mistakes and maintaining our focus.”
Two yellow cards late in the second half, one on Siena and one on freshmen Rachel Madasci also marred the game along with a focus Siena crowd and a lot of shouting at the referee.
“We’ve never beaten them in the regular season since I’ve been here,” said Boudreau.
But the Stags did knock out the Saints last year in the MAAC Conference Tournament.
“The first half we played very well,” said head coach Jim O’Brien. “But I though they were very sluggish. We definitely have more speed than them, but we didn’t utilize it.”
The Stags were also in the midst of their second straight week with three games and without some key players. Seniors Casey Frobey and Chrissie Sidie and freshman Lauren Reilly were all sidelined for the game.
“I’m not an excuse maker, but not having Casey Frobey, Chrissie Sidie and Lauren Reilly at our disposal hurt us. Being able to bring Lauren Reilly off the bench to have that speed would help. But the problem with that is that Siena played Friday too,” said O’Brien. “They played an opportunistic game. It’s not necessarily the way I think the game should be played, but they came out in the second half and did the job. In the end, we’re paid to win games.”
With a youthful roster and some injuries, O’Brien is not making excuses and asking his team to step up.
“It’s a challenge that I put to the team. You can put the rebuilding label on us, but I still feel we’re one of the best in the MAAC.”
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