The Fairfield men’s soccer team entered the season with the goal of winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship.
Now, with the regular season over, the Stags are one step closer to achieving that goal, entering the MAAC Championship as the No. 1 seed. The Stags finished the season with an overall record of 12-5-1 and a 7-2 record in the MAAC, to win the regular season championship.
The team finished the season with a weekend trip to Buffalo, where they played against Canisius and Niagara on Friday and Sunday. Fairfield failed to clinch the top spot in the tournament against Canisius, losing 1-0 in overtime.
On Sunday, the Stags bounced back, winning 2-0 to clinch the regular season championship. Alex Cunliffe ’07 scored his eighth goal of the season, which is sixth most in a season in Fairfield history.
Sam Bailey ’08 added his fourth goal of the year and goalkeeper Jon Paul Francini ’08 picked up his fourth shutout of the year, while lowering his MAAC goals against average to 0.81.
Senior, Mike Troy, was proud of the team’s performance.
“We played good, we were a little unlucky Friday, but we definitely outplayed them [Canisius],” Troy said. “It was raining and was difficult to score. Sunday was awesome; it felt great to win the MAAC regular season championship.
Cunliffe agreed with Troy.
“We played very well in difficult conditions,” said Cunliffe. “With the games being as big as they were, we played very well.”
“It was unfortunate that we lost on Friday, but we did what we needed to on Sunday,” he added.
Though the Stags now hold the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Championship, the road to their goal is a tough one.
The MAAC games begin Thursday at Lessing Field, with two semifinal games and end Sunday with the championship. The Stags’ semifinal opponent is the Loyola Greyhounds, who defeated the Stags 1-0 on Oct. 20.
If Fairfield defeats Loyola, the team will face the winner of the St. Peter’s and Niagara game. St. Peter’s fell to the Stags, 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 15. The game ended the Stags’ 15 game MAAC unbeaten streak.
Cunliffe believes that their experience against Loyola will be a valuable one.
“Having played well against Loyola once this season is a big plus,” Cunliffe said. “We know what they are about.”
Troy also feels that the team will be motivated to win after losing in such a close game.
“We are very well prepared,” said Troy. “We know how they play: they sit back and defend, so we know that we have to attack.”
“We are not going to let them beat us twice,” he added.
Head Coach Carl Rees feels that knowledge of the opponent helps, but he does not want the team to get too hung up on Loyola.
“While the more knowledge of a team you have the better. We need to make sure that we are not focused too much on Loyola,” Rees said. “We need to focus on the way our team plays and continue to do the things we have done well all year to get us to this point.”
The Stags are led by Troy and Cunliffe, who anchor the offense and defense. Troy, a versatile defender who also contributes on the offensive side, has three goals on the season.
Along with Tom Clements ’09 and Tom Skara ’08, Troy has helped goalie, Francini, to his low goals against average. The team has had some defensive lapses this season, especially in the losses to Loyola and Harvard, but Rees believes that the defense has been a strong part of the team.
“The heart of the defense has been dynamite for us all year,” he said.
Cunliffe leads the team with eight goals and 18 points. His eight goals are second most in the MAAC. Along with Cunliffe, junior Sam Bailey, and freshmen Paul McQuade and Christian Uy, provide four offensive threats for the Stags.
Uy’s five goals rank second on the team, while Bailey’s four goals rank third. McQuade has three goals of his own, but his MAAC high of five assists have been a very big help for the Stags this season. Bailey has four assists of his own, to earn him twelve points, which ties him with McQuade for second on the team.
Last season the Stags also won the regular season championship, but lost in the final round of the MAAC Championship to Marist in front of over 1,000 fans at Lessing Field. This year the team will look to give the home crowd a win.
“Playing at home is definitely an important factor,” said Rees. “The quality of the surface at Lessing Field lends itself to the passing game that we play and being in front of the home crowd is great.”
“We hope that everyone can come out on Thursday night to support us,” he added.
If the Stags advance past Loyola, then they will face the winner of St. Peter’s and Niagara on Sunday, also at Lessing Field. The Stags defeated both Niagara, 2-0. and St. Peter’s, 2-1, earlier this season.
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