‘ Heading into last weekend’s games in Buffalo, the men’s soccer team’s playoff hopes were teetering on the edge.
After a 4-0 loss to Niagara on Friday, it looked like the Stags’ hopes had fallen off the cliff, but with a 4-0 win over Canisius on Sunday, they may still have a chance at making the MAAC playoffs.
But it will take a lot for them to pull it off.
Fairfield sits in a tie for fourth place with a 4-3 record and only four teams will make the conference tournament. The Stags are tied with Iona and Saint Peter’s, and they lost to both of those teams earlier this season, giving them each the tie-breaker if it comes down to that.
The Stags finish the season at home, with games against Marist and Siena, and will need to win both to give themselves a shot at the tournament.
Also, both the Peacocks and Gaels must lose at least once this weekend. Saint Peter’s plays at home against Canisius and Niagara, while Iona, like Fairfield, faces both Siena and Marist at home.
Head coach Carl Rees has always been able to find success in the past, but if he can work his magic this year and take his team back to the playoffs again, it will be his best coaching performance in his 13 years at Fairfield.
What was expected to be a rebuilding year has shown to be just that, along with the added adversity of injuries.
The last time the Stags played Iona they were without key defenders Jack Cleverley ’11, who was injured in a car accident, and senior captain Tom Clements, who left the game with broken ribs. Clements is back in his starting role and Cleverley is back, not on the field, but on the sideline, sporting a neck brace and cheering on his teammates.
Rees is a master motivator and if anyone can take this team back from the edge of elimination, he can. After Sunday’s 4-0 win, the Stags have showed they can still win.
Christian Uy ’10 and Clements both scored this weekend and are tied with a team-high of four goals, which is a good sign, as the Stags need their veterans to step up and provide scoring.
With the home field advantage of Lessing Field, anything can happen. With Rees, all he needs is hope and he can make it work. Now he has that again.
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