After a tough weekend on the road, the women’s Soccer team returns home and looks to rebound from two tough losses to non-conference opponents Ohio and Kent State.
The season is just three games old and the team’s record stands at 1-2 with the only victory coming in double overtime against Wagner in the season opener. Scoring for the Stags in the 3-2 win were Shannon Helm, Sandy Michaels, and Lindsey Pulito.
The Lady Stags return to action Friday playing against Brown and Vermont in the ECAC Women’s Soccer Classic in Cape Cod, MA. The team has had success against both Vermont and Brown in the last few years but as Coach Maria Piechocki said, “We beat them both pretty handily last year so we’re expecting them to be looking for a little revenge.”
The team follows up after that with its home opener against St. Joseph’s on Sept. 20. Before breaking into their conference schedule, the Lady Stags face a tough match with Iowa State.
Piechocki called this game “A very challenging match against a tough Division I opponent. After this game, we will have a pretty good idea where we are as a team,” she said.
The Stags are led by tri-captains Kyle McClintock, Cailin Donovan, and Robyn Brady. The team this year is young and inexperienced with just three seniors and several freshmen starting in key roles.
One such player is freshmen goalie Katie Ely, who has seen most of the minutes in the net. She has performed well making 10 saves in the game against Kent State. Freshmen Helm has stepped up as well scoring two goals already while playing the forward position.
“We’ve been challenged a bit by some of the teams we’ve played so far, and we just don’t have as much experience as they do,” Piechocki said. Still players like Kelly Chapple, and Lindsay Sampson have both stepped in after being injured for the last two years.
The team fell just short against Kent State, having scored the first goal but not being able to hold on at the end losing 2-1. According to Piechocki, “The team played a good game in a losing effort against Kent State and Ohio, we just struggled defensively against their pressure.”
Against Ohio, the Lady Stags lost 5-1 with the lone goal being scored by Helm.
Fairfield will play its home-opener on Friday Sept. 20 against St. Joseph’s.
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