FAIRFIELD, Conn. –With four games left in the regular season, every game becomes that much more important when it comes to qualifying for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament. The Fairfield University women's soccer team will play in one of their most crucial games of the season when the squad travels to Niagara Falls for a meeting with the Niagara Purple Eagles on Saturday at 1pm.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Stags are coming off their first shutout loss of the MAAC campaign, falling 1-0 on the road to Marist last week. The lone goal surrendered came on a set piece with 44 seconds remaining in the first half. Fairfield out-shot Marist 14-9 including a barrage of five shots in the final 10 minutes. In her first career appearance, Julia Kleczkowski nearly tied the game in the 68th minute when her header hit off the top of the crossbar, the closest the Stags would come to finding the equalizer. The Stags forced five saves from Marist's goalkeeper Ashley Houghton including all three of Brenna Brown's shots on target. Megan DeFeo, who has supported a 0.97 goals against average this season, made three saves in the contest.
FAIRFIELD VS NIAGARA: The Stags are 19-8-2 all-time against the Purple Eagles but have not won a game in regulation since 2013. Niagara took a 3-1 decision at Lessing Field last season with Jackie Goudreault scoring the lone goal, the first of her career. The last victory for the Stags came in 2013, when the Stags scored four second half goals all by this year's senior class, who were rookies at the time. Brenna Brown, Cassidy Boegel, Sydney Arestivo, and Anna Borea all found the back of the net in the victory, with Borea and Boegel picking up their first career goal. All-time the Stags are 7-3-1 at Niagara.
THE PURPLE EAGLES SCOUTING REPORT: The Purple Eagles enter the contest two points ahead of the Stags for the eighth spot in the MAAC, most recently coming off a 3-1 win against Saint Peter's. The victory snapped a four match losing streak, where Niagara failed to score. The Purple Eagles are led by senior Laura Ortiz who has tied a career-high with her team leading five goals, and a .667 shot on goal percentage. Niagara has split time between their two goalkeepers with Shangyne Samuels appearing in seven games with a 2.33 goals against average, and picked up the latest win against Saint Peter's. Shania van Nuland has appeared in 11 games with a 2.03 goals against average.
UP NEXT: The Stags will return home for a Wednesday night meeting against league leading Monmouth, a team currently unbeaten in the MAAC. Kick-off is at 7pm.
