Playing on Thursday night for the first time, the women’s soccer team did its best to put on a show for the crowd.
Six goals later, the Stags emerged with a thrilling 6-0 victory over Wagner.
“We have been getting more opportunities, and tonight we were able to start converting,” said co-captain Janna Breitenwischer ’08, who had one goal and two assists in the game. Breitenwischer was able to burn defenders multiple times with her blazing speed.
She also admitted that she definitely hears the crowd during the game.
“We always play well in night games,” she said.
Fairfield is currently leading the MAAC in attendance with 254 people per game.
The Stags have yet to allow a goal at home this year and are 3-0 at Lessing Field. One of Head Coach Jim O’Brien’s goals for the season is to go undefeated at home.
Brett Maron ’08 picked up her fourth shutout this season, recording one save as she faced only two shots.
Maron is now second in the MAAC in goals against average and leads the league in shutouts with double her nearest competition.
Not only do the Stags have Maron in goal, but they are also leading the MAAC in goals, averaging 1.56 per game despite playing three nationally ranked teams on the road.
Fairfield out shot the Seahawks 23-2 for the game and earned nine corner kicks to Wagner’s three.
With FUSA president Hutch Williams ’08 and the rest of the Red Sea cheering and heckling, the Stags started producing toward the end of the first half.
At 25:28, Alex Caram ’08 scored the first goal of the game, after the goalie stopped the ball, only to have it slip behind her. Casey Frobey ’10 and Ahna Johnson ’09 added two more goals to give the Stags a 3-0 halftime lead.
Fairfield continued the onslaught in the second half with goals by Breitenwischer, Stephanie Ambrose ’10 and Amanda Vargo ’08.
“We have been focusing on defending, but now in training we have been focusing on finishing and creating chances,” said O’Brien.
The Stags are no stranger to success against Wagner, winning 13-0, 3-2 and 7-0 in their three previous meetings.
Despite the shellacking of the Seahawks, O’Brien said he sees room for improvement.
“We still need to work on overall, solid defending as a group,” said O’Brien.
Fairfield headed out to play a three-game road trip and begin its MAAC regular season Friday.
The first game of the road trip did not end well, as the Stags fell 1-0 to Harvard. Maron made six saves and Caram put three shots on the net, but it was not enough.
The Crimson out shot Fairfield 19-9, including 10-2 in the second half. They also had nine corner kicks to the Stags’ two.
Fairfield played Harvard even for a half, then the Crimson struck early in the second with a goal at 46:10.
The Crimson’s Kerry Kartsonis received a pass from Nicole Rhodes, who dribbled past the defender and shot from the top of the left box into the top right corner of the net.
The loss drops the Stags record to 4-5-1 on the year and snaps a two-game winning streak.
While the team is not focusing on any particular match-up, the Stags open their MAAC regular season play with Canisius and Niagara over the weekend on the road.
“Our traveling on the road, we are used to it,” said O’Brien. “We are prepared for the MAAC.”
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