With three consecutive shutouts under its belt, the Fairfield University women's soccer team prepares for a key weekend of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play. The Stags head south Thursday evening in preparation for a Friday night game at Loyola and a Sunday afternoon game at Rider.
The Stags are 2-0-1 in MAAC play this season, with the seven points putting the team alone in third place, behind Marist and Siena (4-0-0; 12 points). Fairfield is the only league team that has not allowed an opponent to score a goal in conference play, a streak that now spans 290 minutes of action.
Fairfield meets Loyola for the first time since the Stags 2009 Senior Day on Alumni Field in rainy conditions. That afternoon senior Bridget Nerich posted a career-high 14 saves, before a non-offsides call in the first overtime period resulted in a 2-1 Greyhounds victory. It was the 15th Loyola win in the series between the two squads, which has seen seven Fairfield wins and seven draws. The Greyhounds are the only MAAC team that Fairfield does not have a winning record all-time against.
On Sunday the Stags will travel to Lawrenceville, N.J. to take on the Broncs, a series which the Stags lead 12-3-0 all-time, with five consecutive victories to their credit. Fairfield is 5-1-0 in games played at Rider, with that lone loss coming in 2004, 2-0. It marks the only regular season loss that the Stags have ever suffered to the Broncs, and came in the only season that Fairfield did not qualify for the MAAC Championship.
Fairfield found its offensive legs last weekend, scoring six goals in two games, after not tallying a goal in the previous four games (400 minutes).
Alyssa Decker snapped the scoring drought midway through the first-half against Manhattan on Friday night, bouncing a shot from just inside midfield over the Jaspers keeper for what would prove to be the game-winning tally. That goal marked one of three scores for Fairfield backs during the weekend with
Casey Frobey and
Carly Beyar both touching net against Saint Peter's on Sunday afternoon.
The Stags defensive was equally impressive in the two games, earning the team's seventh and eighth shutouts of the season. Goalkeeper
Kelly Boudreau was the recipient of those defensive efforts, as she was named the MAAC and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. The junior has now posted 23 career clean sheets and is just 1.5 shy of the school record held by Anne Lyons (1997-2000).
Loyola enters Friday's game with a 5-8-2 overall record and at 1-3-0 in the MAAC – in a four-way tie for sixth place with three points. All five of the Greyhound victories have come at home, where the team is 5-1-1 this season. Loyola has played overtime seven times this season, in consecutive games, and are 3-2-2 in those contests.
The Greyhounds, who have lost each of their last two games, have been outscored 29-16 for the season and 7-5 in MAAC play. Nichole Schiro is the team's offensive leader, having tallied 10 of those 16 goals, and leads the way with 21 points. Danielle Ippolito has minded the net for 1,082 minutes this season, stopping nearly 83 percent of the shots she has faced and has a GAA of 1.33 entering Friday. The Greyhounds have played overtime seven times this season, in consecutive games, and are 3-2-2 in those contests.
Rider has lost three straight league games, after opening conference play with a 2-1 win over Niagara, and is part of the sixth-place tie in the MAAC, at 1-3-0. The Broncs are 5-6-2 overall on the season, with a 3-1-1 record coming on its home field. Over the course of its 13 games, Rider has outs cored its foes 20-19, with 21 assists.
Abi Cottam leads the Broncs with six goals – three of which are game-winners – and 14 points, while Jennifer Meier and Kaitlin Wylie have both handed out a team-best three assists. Meier has also added four goals, while Jody Sokol has 12 points on five goals and two assists. Alex Post has minded the net for 1,152 minutes this season, making 62 saves (.775 save percentage) and has a GAA of 1.41.
