Fairfield University women’s soccer team had two tough games this week, finishing with a split 1-1 record.
The Fairfield University’s women’s soccer team (6-3-2) lost to Quinnipiac University (5-6) on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 here in Fairfield, CT. The final score was 3-0 in favor of Quinnipiac, even though the Stags outshot the Bobcats 14-10.
The first half was predominantly controlled by Quinnipiac. With four shots on goal within two minutes, Emily Loney of Quinnipiac was able to sneak one past Fairfield first-year goalkeeper Gena Pike. After the goal, the Stags continued to struggle to gain control of the game as Quinnipiac was constantly on the attack. Fairfield’s defense composed of Gabby Diodati ‘21, Josie Horosky ‘23 and Olivia Homan ‘23 faced the most action on the field, since the ball was on the defensive end of the field for a majority of the game. Fairfield’s biggest struggle seemed to be clearing the ball passed the midfield line, and this would hurt them as Markela Bejleri for Quinnipiac would score the team’s second goal of the game about midway through the half.
Towards the end of the first half, Fairfield had many opportunities to score, but failed to get one by the Bobcat’s goalkeeper Meaghan Phillips who made seven saves in the game. The half ended with Quinnipiac up 2-0.
The second half was a more evenly played half. Offensively, Brooke Hernon ‘22, Liz Dumas ‘23 and Stephanie Tsangaris ‘22 each fought hard to try and get the Stags a goal. The connections were there for Fairfield too and this was evident from Dumas’s beautiful headshot that just missed the net high. Even with constant chances, Fairfield failed to find the back of the net and eventually Olivia Scott of Quinnipiac would score the third and final team goal for the game.
When asked for his take on the game, Fairfield’s head coach David Barret felt that, “We made too many mistakes, and I think the tempo of the game was going against us and when we fell behind, it is hard to dig out of that in soccer. I thought we had some decent chances, but we are not quite aggressive enough around the goal. I thought we did some decent things box to box, but just not enough good things against a good team to get it done.”
On Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. the Stags took on the Manhattan College Jaspers (2-9) at home. Barret hoped that there will be a renewed response the following Saturday after their loss to Quinnipiac.
“We have to get back to work tomorrow, come out with a right attitude, and know that everything needs to be better for us to be where we want to be in a few weeks,” Barret said.
Practice seems to be just what the girls needed as the came out strong this weekend with a 2-0 win against the Jaspers. Less than a minute into the game, Tsangaris was able to find the back of the net for Fairfield giving them an early 1-0 lead. Throughout the rest of the half, the Stags were able to outshoot the Jaspers 7-3 and continued to stay on the offensive. Melanie Hingher ‘20 and Amy Akerley ‘22 had one and two shots, respectively in the first half, in order to contribute to the Stag’s game play.
Within the second half, Fairfield kept their foot on the gas pedal and continued to fight offensively. With shot contributions from Hernon, Dumas, and Julia McGuire ‘20, the Stags outshot the Jaspers 11-5. About mid-way through the half, with the help of Horosky, Ally Filipkowski ‘22 was able to score her first goal of the season giving Fairfield a 2-0 lead. The Jaspers were unable to generate decent scoring opportunities to try and fight back throughout the half, which would lead to Fairfield’s win.
The game was split between rookie Pike and sophomore Aytana Muschajew in goal for Fairfield when each goalie made one save in Saturday’s win. In net for Manhattan was Kim Mains who made eight saves throughout the game.
The Stags are now 7-4-2 this season and are 4-1 in the MAAC. With only five games remaining in the regular season, Fairfield looks on to their next matchup on Wednesday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Fairfield’s Lessing Field.
Leave a Reply