WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – It's rare that a game so early in the conference season can mean so much to a pair of teams. Tonight, when the Fairfield and Monmouth men's soccer teams took the pitch, both had a reason to want to win this game.
For the Stags, a win would keep them unbeaten and on pace with the conference leaders as they look to defend their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. For the Hawks, they already stood at 0-2-0 and needed a victory to keep themselves relevant in the standings.
Despite trailing for more than 80 minutes, it was Fairfield's resiliency, something lauded by Head Coach
Carl Rees throughout the season, which allowed the Stags to come-from-behind with two goals in the final eight minutes and secure a 2-1 win over Monmouth.
"The group really stayed at it tonight," Coach Rees said after the game. "We took 23 shots tonight but sometimes the game can be cruel. But, I think we deserved it. You also have to credit Monmouth who stuck around and stuck around. At times we weren't sure if we were going to break through but Jon (Filipe) and Fernando (Robayo) were able to push us through."
Rees continually pointed toward the lessons learned that his freshmen and sophomores were receiving during non-conference games and how that experience would benefit both the players and the team when MAAC matches rolled around. Tonight, his words over the last few weeks proved prophetic as the two forwards– Jon Filipe and
Fernando Robayo – were able to work some magic late and help send the Stags to their second MAAC win in as many outings.
The cruelty of the game certainly was relevant tonight as Monmouth managed only one shot in the first half and that attempt found the back of the net. While Fairfield applied pressure with wave after wave of aggressive play in the final third, Monmouth goalkeeper Sean Murray was able to make three saves and keep his team in front going into intermission.
The Stags came out in the second half and created more opportunities in the opening minutes with the greatest chance to that point coming just three minutes after halftime. A hand ball resulted in a penalty kick for the Stags but Murray was equal to the task again by saving the attempt and making sure the rebound was not available.
With Fairfield sending almost every ball forward, Monmouth was not able to cross midfield very often and was forced to keep most of its 11 position players on its side of the field to fend off the Stags. In the 82
nd minute, the visitors finally gained the upper hand inside the box was
Matt McGlinchey sent a ball into the box toward the far post which Robayo was able to redirect with a header to tie the game.
The Stags were not ready to settle for a draw and so they continued to keep moving the ball forward. With under two minutes remaining, Fairfield goalkeeper
Gordon Botterill sent a long pass into the final third where
Jack Weiss was able to collect it and bring it inside the box. After a quick juke, he sent the ball toward the far post, a perfectly timed ball that Filipe was able to track down with a diving attempt that ended with him deflecting the ball into the far corner of the goal in the 89
th minute.
"Our group worked to get the job done tonight," Rees said. "We have spirit and we have six points out of six possible points. We have to stay hungry and humble."
