Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Reco McLaren recorded his first hat trick as a member of the Fairfield University men's soccer team, leading the Stags to a 3-0 win over Rider University on Friday night. The forward scored in the first half and added two more goals in the second half.

Fairfield had three offensive opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the game, but none of those chances resulted in a goal. Nuno Rodrigues had two of those opportunities in the third and fourth minutes of the game, the second of which was taken away by a save from Matt Perrella from eight yards away.

From there, Jon Clements took center stage with two opportunities, but bad luck prevented from Fairfield taking the lead. George Newton sent a ball from 30 yards away that Clements caught up to and struck the ball while it was in the air but the ball just kicked wide of the far post in the eighth minute. Three minutes later, Clements used good footwork to find free space five yards from goal, but his shot caromed off the cross bar and bounced down just in front of the goal line. Rider's defense cleared the ball to keep the game scoreless.

The Stags finally broke through in the 14th minute when Jordan Ayris sprung McLaren on the left side of the box. The junior accepted the pass, dribbled briefly before releasing a shot from the left side that caught the lower right corner for a 1-0 lead. Rider was kept in check for the entire first half with two shots, one of which required Fairfield goalkeeper Michael O'Keeffe to make a save.

The Broncs came out aggressively at the start of the second half, but the trio of Adam Cowen, Jonny Raj, and Newton cleared the ball before the ball reached the offensive third of the pitch. McLaren made Rider pay for its aggressive attack when he found a loose ball on the right side, brought the ball parallel to the middle of the field and struck the ball from 35 yards away from goal. Perrella had drifted off his line and McLaren took full advantage by tucking the ball just under the cross bar for a 2-0 lead at 52:52.

The forward finished off the scoring with his third goal and seventh of the season after Justin Lewis, who was just inserted into the lineup, placed a brilliant pass through two defenders which caught McLaren in stride toward the goal. He broke free and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and clipped the lower left corner with his shot.

The Stags improved to 6-6-1 overall and 2-2-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with the win. Fairfield will host Loyola University on Sunday afternoon in another key MAAC game. The contest will be played at Lessing Field beginning at 1 pm.