FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For Head Coach Carl Rees, there's no fun in repetition so repeating something that you already accomplished really isn't exciting in his mind. But doing something that hasn't been done before, that's the place that Rees and his lads want to be and that is the goal that the Fairfield University men's soccer team set back in August.

                So while the team is certainly grateful for capturing its second straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season title, the Stags are focused on the unprecedented and that is winning back-to-back regular-season and consecutive MAAC tournament titles. The program won back-to-back regular-season titles in 2005 and 2006 but only won the conference tournament once during that two-year run.

                "There's very little fun in repetition," Coach Rees said. "It doesn't really excite anyone unless you are doing something absolutely incredible. What we set out to do was something that we had not done before in winning back-to-back regular season and tournament championships so that is what we are aiming for."

                The good news is that the Stags will get to go for the fourth and final leg of their ambitious goal on its home pitch as the Stags were rewarded with home-pitch advantage as long as they are in the MAAC tournament after winning the regular-season title. Fairfield receives a first-round bye so it will host the lowest remaining seed on Thursday, November 8 in the tournament semifinals.

                All of this good fortune may have come on one play late in the first half but that play really was a culmination of a learning experience for this young team that sent four freshmen and four sophomores on the pitch as members of the starting 11. Tonight, it was a freshman setting up the game-winning goal and a junior finishing the chance.

                With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, the Stags put together a successful run deep in their offensive third. Cormac Pike started the scoring opportunity with an accurate cross that curled toward the near post. Joseph Meyer made the run and placed a perfectly-timed header on the ball and redirected into the near corner for what proved to be the game's only goal.

                "As the season progressed, the most difficult third of the field is in the final third," Coach Rees said. "So it makes sense that as the season evolved we would be more potent in the offensive third with our combination play. The goal tonight was an example of that where it was a nice third-man combination with an overlapping run with a good delivery into a dangerous area with a punched header finish down."

                The goal may have been a culmination of good play in the final third, but tonight was also a culmination of a season-long experience for a young team that ended with accomplishing part of a goal set back in the summer.  

                "They learned to win a big game," Coach Rees said. "The value of a regular-season championship is that it is over the course of ten games. So over the course of the conference season, we proved that we were the best in the league so far. However, the next challenge for us is the semifinals of the MAAC tournament so that is what we are focused on now."

                The Stags also received another solid night from freshman Jonathan Filipe who was rather mischievous tonight. He nearly gave Fairfield an early lead when he launched a shot from 20 yards away that appeared destined for the upper corner if not for a diving save by Manhattan goalkeeper Marcellin Gohier. Later in the half, Filipe appeared to have a one-on-one with the goalkeeper following a long pass down field, but the forward was taken down en route which drew a red card against the Manhattan defender and put the visitors down a man for nearly 70 minutes. He also created some magic in the second half which kept the Jaspers defense off balance and occupied for a good part of the match.

                "Jon is unique in that you don't get many players who are that explosive and that effective in one versus one," Coach Rees said. "It's kind of a dying art, the tricky winger from the old days. And Jon is that player who brings a ton of value in the attacking third and on counter attack situations as was witnessed tonight."

                With tonight's win, the Stags extended their unbeaten streak in MAAC regular-season games to 18 (14-0-4) dating back to last season.  Fairfield's last loss in the conference regular season came in a 3-2 overtime decision against Canisius on September 30, 2017.

                But now the Stags are hoping to extend their MAAC tournament winning streak when they take the pitch on November 8 with the hope of making a run toward the unprecedented.