By Ben Doody
It is perhaps the greatest cliche in sports. But the Fairfield men’s soccer team may want to put it on a sign and hang it in its locker room: Offense wins games, defense wins championships.
The first part of the saying has, in a way, proven itself true thus far. The Stags haven’t scored, and they haven’t won as much as they might have liked.
The team has set the expectation level exceptionally high this year. Last week, defender Alex Cunliffe ’07 told The Mirror that anything less than a league title would be unacceptable. But the Stags enter their Sept. 23 game against Harvard with just two wins in six contests (2-2-2) in large part because they have failed to score.
But if the second part is true, the Stags are have an unmeasurably bright future.
Goalkeeper Andrew Frankel ’06 has literally held a stronghold on the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award. With last week’s 1-0 shutout win over Columbia, Frankel wrapped up the award for the third straight week.
“He has been one of, if not the most, consistent players for us so far,” Cunliffe said.
Coach Carl Rees took an optimistic approach to the way his team has played, citing the difficulty of its non-conference schedule.
“Overall, it has been a good start to the season,” he said. “We have played some top-flight teams and improved over last year.”
Rees said that the Stags’ defenders in front of Frankel have played a crucial roll in the team’s defensive success, citing the play of two Connecticut natives, one of whom is a converted forward.
“Mike Troy [’07] has been a rock defensively and has teamed up with Tom Skara [’08] to form a strong partnership at the heart of our defense,” he said.
Troy, a stand-out forward at Newtown High School, was the Stags’ leading scorer in 2003 as a freshman and has played the majority of his college career at forward.
But seeking to build a stronger defensive foundation, Rees moved Troy back to forward on the team’s recently completed road trip, and the results have earned the Stags praise.
“He’s been getting better and better,” Cunliffe said.
Troy’s play on defense earned him a spot on the Holiday Inn Express All-Tournament team, along with midfielder Kerr McLeoud ’09.
The Stags went 1-1 in the tournament last weekend. They lost a tough 1-0 game to Lafayette, but also shut out Columbia 1-0. The Stags have given up just five goals in their first six games.
The defensive stinginess was enough to catch the attention of the region’s head coaches, who ranked the Stags in the New England top five last week. Last season, the Stags were not ranked all year.
But has Troy’s absence created a hole in the team’s offense?
“I don’t think so,” Cunliffe said. “He plays up a lot anyway, and this team has a lot of depth.”
On paper, at least, no one would argue with Cunliffe’s assessment. The Stags have last year’s leading scorer, Bill Androustos ’06, back, and he probably has his best soccer ahead of him.
Androustous is joined on a proven offensive unit by Sam Baily ’08, perhaps the Stags’ brighest young star.
Baily, who scored three goals last year and was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team, has yet to score this year, a third of the way through the season.
The Stags expect improved play out of Baily, along with the rest of the offense.If that improved play comes, the Stags feel a league title is attainable.
Said Cunliffe, “We’re improving every week as a team..”
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