FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- After starting its longest road trip of the season with a 0-0 tie against a nationally-ranked team, the Fairfield University men's soccer team will continue the four-game stretch by heading to Iona College on Saturday. The game will open the Stags' defense of its 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season and tournament titles.

Head Coach Carl Rees witnessed his team battle 19th-ranked Brown University to a 0-0 draw earlier this week, and hopes the team will continue to build on its experience against top-ranked teams. The Stags played fifth-ranked New Mexico in late September and opened the home portion of its schedule against Boston College, which was in the top 25 at the time of that game.

Fairfield posted an unblemished 8-0-1 mark against MAAC opponents a year ago, earning the top-seed in the 2011 MAAC tournament. The Stags ran the table in Orlando, site of the conference championship, to capture its fourth conference title and trip to the NCAA tournament.

Iona reached the MAAC tournament semifinals last season and posted an impressive 15-4-1 overall record and a 7-2 MAAC mark. The Gaels have followed a similar path as the Stags this year, playing three nationally-ranked teams including two in their last two outings. Iona fell to second-ranked South Florida by a 2-1 count, defeated 25th-ranked Monmouth by a 3-1 margin before dropping a 3-1 decision to West Virginia.

Ansger Otto is the team's top scorer with eight points, netting three goals and two assists in nine games. Ignacio Maganto is next in line with three points, tallying a goal and an assist. Borja Barbero has played every minute in the Iona goal, registering a 1.78 goals against average with a .709 save percentage. He has one shutout, a 1-0 decision over Adelphi University in the season opener.

Fairfield has seen the emergence of Jordan Ayris as the sophomore has scored all of the team's last three goals. Ayris posted both goals in the team's win over Rhode Island on September 29, and also added a goal in a 2-1 setback to the University of Denver. He leads the team in scoring with six points, all coming off three goals. Reco McLaren places second among his teammates with two goals and four points.

Goalkeeper Michael O'Keeffe has posted a shutout in each of his last two starts which lowered his goals against average to 0.74. He also improved his save percentage to .860 with 43 saves against seven goals allowed in nine starts. He has four shutouts for the season.