In a Sept. 28 matchup against the St. Bernards of Siena College the Fairfield Women’s Soccer team tied 1-1. This makes the squad 8-1-1 overall and one of three unbeaten in conference teams in the competitive Metro Atlantic Athletic conference. The team has racked up impressive non-conference wins against Princeton and Holy Cross and its only loss came against a non-conference game against the Texas A&M Aggies. At the time the Aggies were ranked 24th in the nation and a loss to such a highly-touted opponent surely didn’t dampen the Stags’ spirit.
In Saturday’s matchup against Siena, forward graduate student Elle Scott got the team off to a hot start by scoring a goal within the first three minutes of play. Siena’s Catherine Rodgers ‘28 responded later in the first half with a goal in the 38th minute. In the second half, the Stags took 13 shots yet formidable goalie play by Siena’s Cate Burns ‘28 yielded no points. Overall Fairfield dominated the game by outshooting the St. Bernards 22-9, and were disappointed when their performance only granted them one point in the league standings.
Graduate student and midfielder, Caroline Kelly, attributes the team’s early success to the combination of experience from older players and the mentoring of the younger ones. She points out that “Having 6 graduate students, four of which played their undergraduate career at Fairfield along with a strong senior class, there is a lot of older experience and mentoring for younger teammates. This combination creates a competitive atmosphere different from other years which is our biggest strength.” As a graduate student, Kelly acknowledges that the team’s past failures are also used as motivation, she described the 2023 season as “disappointing” and that the 2024 team is “determined” to not make history repeat itself.
The Stags are squarely through the first half of their schedule and have had the best start to their season since 1998. Currently, the only two other unbeatens in the MAAC are Canisius and Quinnipiac who they respectively play on Oct. 26 and 30, both of which are home at Lessing Field. However, with such a talented team there isn’t a specific goliath the team has to conquer. When asked what the biggest challenge ahead was, Coach Barrett appropriately remarked, “We need to stay focused and learn to adjust to teams when they don’t allow us to do what we’d prefer to do on the field.”
This Wednesday, Oct. 2 the Stags battle the St. Peter’s Peacocks. The Peacocks have been struggling with an 0-4 record in conference yet their wins and losses do not tell the full story. This season St. Peters has tallied up 16 goals in total in comparison to their opponent’s 20, which proves that they should not be an overlooked opponent. Coach Barrett warns “St Peter’s is a tough, physical opponent. They play really hard and make it very challenging to play against them.” On another note he says “The team really appreciates the support we get at home games, and we have at least four games at Lessing before the playoffs so hopefully we’ll continue our winning ways at Lessing!”
Right now the women’s soccer team is undefeated at Lessing Field. To keep the streak going it is necessary for fellow Stags to do their part. At the time of writing the weather is looking great for the 7 p.m. matchup against St. Peters so come on down to support one of the best teams Fairfield has had in recent history!
