FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University men's soccer team opens the 2012 season with a pair of games over the weekend. The Stags play their season opener on Friday with a trip to Columbia University. Two days later, the squad hosts nationally-ranked Boston College on Monday night at Lessing Field beginning at 7 pm.

Head Coach Carl Rees led his team to the 2012 NCAA tournament after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament for the fourth time in school history. The Stags earned the top seed in the MAAC tournament after posting an unbeaten record in conference play at 8-0-1. The team posted a 12-5-3 overall record in 2011.

Fairfield returns five of its top six returning scorers including sophomore forward Jordan Aryis. He finished the 2011 season as the team's top scorer with 23 points, netting 10 goals and dishing off three assists. Ayris, the MAAC Rookie of the Year, was the only Stag to reach double-digits for goals scored which helped him finish the 2011 campaign as the top scoring freshman in the MAAC.

Jon Clements tallied 19 points with six goals and a team-high seven assists, followed by Daniel Shaw with eight points (three goals, two assists), Adam Cowen with five points (two goals, one assist), and Jake Zuniga with four points (two goals). Fairfield scored in all but one game last season, getting shutout by Columbia by a 1-0 count in the second game of the season. The team tallied two or more goals in 10 games and in five of its last seven contests.

Goalkeeper Michael O'Keeffe returns for his fourth season as the team's starting goalkeeper, coming off a season which led to being named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. He played all but eight minutes last season, recording 1618 minutes over 18 starts. He registered a 1.17 goals against average with 65 saves and five shutouts.

Columbia finished the 2011 campaign with an 8-7-2 record and a 4-2-1 mark in Ivy League play. The Lions return four of their top five scorers including the team leader Will Stamatis. The forward posted 12 points with a team-high six goals. Henning Sauerbier was next on the list with 11 points, tallying four goals and three assists.

Boston College was ranked in the top 15 to start the season and will bring a 1-1 record into the September 3 meeting with the Stags. The Eagles opened the season with a 2-1 win over Quinnipiac University before falling by a 1-0 score against Boston University.

Jason Abbott scored the game-winning goal against Quinnipiac after setting up the team's first goal, giving him three points for the season. Kevin Mejia netted the team's other goal against the Bobcats. Justin Luthy played all 180 minutes to date, allowing two goals and making nine saves in his two starts.