FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Stags will wrap-up one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in their program history when they travel to Colonial Athletic Association member Drexel on Thursday night at 7pm before hosting ACC squad Syracuse on Sunday at Lessing Field at 1pm. This will be the second meeting in program history for both squads as Fairfield looks for their first-ever win in the series.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Brenna Brown became the first opponent of the season to score a goal at Belson Stadium at St. John's, snapping 240-straight scoreless minutes for the Red Storm. Brown also was just the second player of the season to score against St. John's overall, as they have tallied a goals against average of 0.31 during the first six games of the season. Brown's tally came in the 75th minute when Pamela Coufos launched a perfect through ball to the striker, who was able to deek the backup goalkeeper and finished the open goal. For Brown, it was her team leading third goal of the campaign, placing her second in the conference early into the season. Despite chasing a 5-0 deficit, the Stags finished the game with their best performance of the evening, tallying four corner kicks and the goal in the final 20 minutes.
PROMOTION SCHEDULE: The home contest against Syracuse will also begin the 2016 Women's Soccer Promotional Schedule which continues for the rest of the home slate. On Sunday, students and fans will enjoy ice cream sundaes with students receiving free sundaes while all other fans can purchase the ice cream for $2. The next promotion for the Stags will come in their MAAC opener against Canisius when the squad will celebrate their 25th anniversary on Alumni Day.
FAIRFIELD VS DREXEL: The Stags and the Dragons first met last season and will continue the series in 2016. Drexel took the series opener with a 3-1 decision in the Fairfield Invitational with a goal coming from Shaelyn McCarty, and two from Madison Dunn, with both players returning to the Dragons this year. Sara Plowman notched her first career tally in the setback when she hit the rebounded shot in the 70th minute. Jenna Pike tallied four saves in her first match against the Dragons while two goalkeepers combined for three stops for Drexel.
THE DREXEL SCOUTING REPORT: The two goal scorers in last year's match against Fairfield, Dunn and McCarty, have combined for five of the eight goals for the Dragons this season. McCarty, who has a team-high three goals, was named the CAA Player of the Week after scoring a pair of goals in the opening week, helping the squad to wins over Villanova and Temple. Vanessa Kara, who became the first player in program history to win the CAA Rookie of the Year award, leads the team with six points on two goals and two assists. Christiana Ogunsami is in her first year as a goalkeeper for the Dragons after transferring from Vanderbilt where she was second in the SEC in saves and allowed just 23 goals on the year, the lowest total for the Commodores since 2006.
FAIRFIELD VS SYRACUSE: As with Drexel, this will be the second meeting all-time with Syracuse who last came to Lessing Field as part of the Fairfield Invitational in 2012. Both teams fought to a 0-0 draw despite some exciting moments on both sides. Carly Beyar had a second half goal waved off when a foul was called on the play and Kelly Boudreau made a diving save on a 1-v-1 opportunity in the first overtime. That shutout extended the Fairfield shutout streak to 371 minutes at the time.
THE ORANGE SCOUTING REPORT: The Orange come into the weekend with a 4-1-1 with three shutouts on their record. The Orange are led by a trio of scorers with a pair of goals namely juniors Eva Gordon, Alana O'Neill, and senior Stephanie Skilton, who led the team with 18 points and eight goals last season. The former NSCAA New York High School Player of the Year, O'Neill played in every minute for the Syracuse backline last season. Courtney Brosnan returns to mind the net after leading the ACC with 81 saves. This year, Brosnan has logged a 0.64 goals against average and three shutouts, just one fewer clean sheet she had all of last year.
UP NEXT: The Stags will start the most important part of their schedule when they open up the MAAC campaign with an afternoon meeting against Canisius on Saturday, September 17 at 1pm. Prior to the contest, Fairfield will also celebrate their 25th anniversary season.
