Coming into this season, the men’s soccer team was predicted to finish in second place in the MAAC conference, behind only Loyola.
With a 2-3 start to the out-of-conference season and the strong play of Loyola, Iona and Niagara against non-conference competition so far, the road to the NCAA tournament is looking rougher than ever before.
But that has not affected the Stags spirits. With injuries and inexperience off the bench affecting the early season play of Fairfield, the team still expects to be a contender for the conference championship when it rolls around in November.
While the Stags have not looked as sharp as they have in previous seasons, their losses have all been close, winnable games, head coach Carl Rees insists that they are working harder in practice than ever before.
Over the weekend, the Stags split a two-game trip to Florida, defeating Florida International, 2-1, on Friday, but later fell to Florida Gulf Coast, 3-1, on Sunday.
Against Florida International, the Stags took an early 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by
Tom Clements ’09, who hooked up with fellow senior Mike Lentine for the second time this season, putting in a header off of Lentine’s corner kick. It was Clements second goal of the season, which ties him for the team lead with Christian Uy ’10.
‘We played brightly to start the game,’ Rees said. ‘They were tactically sound offensively, but we played well collectively to keep the game in our favor throughout the first half.’
The second half saw more strong play from the Fairfield defensive back line, including goal keeper Justin Burse, who made seven saves on the night.
The Stags’ lone mistake of the game came in the 77th minute, when the Golden Panthers forward Juan Guerra was taken down in the box, setting up a penalty kick, which he converted.
In overtime, Uy scored only three minutes in to give Fairfield the victory.
Fairfield will need stronger play from the freshmen and sophomores who have been forced into important roles on the team.
One of those players, Chris Boyer ’12, scored his first career goal against Florida Gulf Coast, but it was not enough for the Stags to outpace the Eagles’ offense, which out-shot the Stags 16-11.
Up next for Fairfield is a difficult game against Yale in New Haven.
Yale has played the Stags close over the past two seasons, with Fairfield squeaking out a 1-0 win at home last year and a 3-1 win two years ago, with the last two goals of that game coming on penalty kicks late in the second half.
The southern Connecticut rivalry game provides a good test for Fairfield, which will be entering the difficult MAAC season next Friday at Iona.
The Gaels earned votes in multiple national polls last week after a 5-2 start.
Iona is not the only team in the MAAC off to a strong start to the season. Loyola, the favorite to win the conference, is undefeated, with six wins and one tie, and is ranked No. 17 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Associate of America (NSCAA) poll, the most respected in the country.
Leave a Reply