After three trips to the MAAC tournament and two championship victories that led to trips to the NCAA Tournament, the senior class did not want to go out without a chance to defend its title at Lessing Field.
But despite the fact the MAAC Tournament is going to be played at Lessing Field this coming weekend, the Stags were not guaranteed one of the four spots that would allow them to defend the title from last season. And after a 3-0 loss to Niagara on Friday night, that opportunity was in jeopardy.
That set up a chance for the seniors, led by Christian Uy, who has scored the sixth most goals in school history, to defeat Canisius and secure a spot in the tournament and extend their playing careers.
They did just that. It was Uy who scored an early goal to give the Stags a 1-0 lead, which would end 2-0. Fellow senior Matt Cleveland came on late to spend time in goal, while Kwadwo Asante also came off the bench. Charlie Grover was also honored before the game.
“I thanked all three of the guys for their effort and commitment to our University,” head coach Carl Rees said. “I sure they will have fond memories of those wins but most of all they will remember the friends they have made and the day to day camaraderie of the locker room.”
We will miss Charlie’s tough tackling, Matt’s incredible reflex saves, Kojo’s wizardry on the wings and Chris Uy’s amazing one vs. one skills. These guys are good people who have embraced the challenges of our sport at this level with humility and courage,” Rees added.
Asante said that he will miss being a soccer player at Fairfield, but is excited about the chance to defend the championship.
“The attention that came along with, walking on campus it always seems like someone knew you although you have never met them before, it shows how much people pays attention to the sport and that makes me proud to know that,” Asante said. “Another thing that I have enjoyed playing soccer here is the fact that it gave me the opportunity to experience playing in an NCAA Tournament.”
He added that heading into Sunday’s game against Canisius, the seniors knew that it was their responsibility to extend their Fairfield careers.
“We knew the only way for us to make the tournament is to either get a tie or beat Canisius, so that motivated us because we did not want to be the Marist of last year where they hosted the MAAC tournament but were no part of it,” Asante said.
The Stags will play Loyola at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Lessing Field.
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