Box Score
The Fairfield University women's soccer team defeated Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) host Siena College 3-0 this afternoon in Loudonville, N.Y. and in the process secured the second-seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship. The win is the fifth in a row for the Stags, who improve to 11-5-1 on the year and 7-1-1 in MAAC play, while the Saints fall to 8-8-1 on the year and 4-4-1 in MAAC play.
Brenna Brown (North Salem, N.Y.) broke a scoreless tie in the 68th minute when she played a ball into the box that deflected off of two Siena players and into the back of the net. It marks the rookie's fifth tally of the year and her third game-winning goal.
Ashley Small (Melville, N.Y.) tallied a pair of insurance goals 2:42 seconds apart to give her, at least at momentarily, a share of the league scoring lead, with a dozen tallies. She scored her first of the afternoon at 80:20, when team assist leader Nikki Stanton (North Bend, Wash.) and Brown connected passes that Small volleyed over the keepers head. Her second score game when Molly Moran (Monson, Mass.) sent a long pass ahead and Small beat the Saints defenders for a goal with 6:58 to play in the game.
In a scoreless first-half both teams were credited with four shots, with the Stags putting three on cage, but were turned aside by Taylor Booth. She would finish with six saves in the game for Siena. Kathleen Early (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) stopped the only shot that she faced for her third consecutive clean sheet.
The Stags turned up the offensive pressure in the second-half, holding an 11-2 advantage in shots, with Siena not recording an attempt until the 79th minute. Fairfield finished with a 15-9 edge in shots and a 2-1 corner kick advantage.
The Fairfield win, coupled with Monmouth's 3-0 win over Saint Peter's, secured the top two spots at the MAAC Championship, October 31-November 4 at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla. The Hawks can finish with no less than 25 points, which is the most the Stags can accrue, giving Monmouth the top-seed via their 2-0 win over Fairfield during the regular season.
The Stags close out the regular season at Rider on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game which will be streamed at MAAC.tv. That game is also available as a single-game purchase. Rider will have livestats available free of charge as well.
