FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Soccer team will look to defend their early unblemished Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) record when they host in-state rivals Quinnipiac on Wednesday night at 7pm. The Stags enter play as one of only three unbeaten teams in conference play, representing their best start in five seasons.
The Stags played arguably their most complete back-to-back contests of the season, defeating both Saint Peter's and Canisius on the road by a collective 6-0 margin.
Brooke Jones led the Stags with five points during the week, scoring in both contests and also adding an assist against Saint Peter's. Jones netted the game-winner against Canisius in the 25th minute, representing the only score of the 1-0 victory. For her impressive play, Jones was named both the MAAC Co-Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, her first career weekly honors.
The six goals extends Fairfield's conference lead as they have netted 25 goals over the first 18 games, ranking 35th in the nation.
Gabby Diodati has tallied an assist in three-straight games as she has taken over the conference lead with a career-high tying six helpers. Her 16 career assists now places her in a four-way tie for eighth place all-time on the Fairfield career list. Her next assist will tie her with Kara Burmaster '95 for seventh.
Diodati also helped anchor a Fairfield backline that surrendered just three shots on goal and 10 attempts overall in 180-scoreless minutes. Diodati and the Stags surrendered just four shots and one on target against the Peacocks while the Griffs were limited to six shots on Saturday.
Quinnipiac enters play with a 1-3 conference mark after dropping three-straight to Rider, Marist, and Monmouth. Kelsey Goldring is the team leader with three goals, one of seven different Bobcats to touch net this season. Goalkeeper Meaghan Phillips has started 10 contests in cage and holds a 1.00 goals against average and a .783 save percentage.
The game against Quinnipiac will open up a season-long three game homestand for the Stags with their next contest coming on Saturday at 2pm against Manhattan. This contest will also be the program's Annual "Herd For a Cure" when T-shirts and raffle tickets will be sold and donations will be collected to support the Norma Pfriem Breast Center. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to promote breast cancer awareness.
