FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The second half of the Fairfield University men's soccer season begins with a pair of road Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) matches this week beginning with Wednesday's 7 p.m. meeting with Monmouth University. The Stags will follow up that trip with a run to Siena College for Saturday's 3 p.m. contest with Siena College.
Head Coach
Carl Rees witnessed his squad come up with a strong showing in its last outing, a 2-1 win over Niagara University at home last Saturday. Junior
Daniel Raimondo came off the bench to play a role in both goals, scoring the first and setting up the game winner. It was the Stags' second home win this season, edging the University of Hartford by a 1-0 count on September 21. The victory pushed Fairfield above the .500 mark at home, sporting a 2-1-1 mark at Lessing Field.
The Stags will now turn their attention to the road, having to play two straight away from campus before finishing up the regular season with four homes date over the final six matches of the season. Fairfield has scored three goals in its four road games as opposed to its seven goals in four home matches. In fact, the Stags have tallied two goals in three of their four home dates this season.
Jonathan Filipe continues to pace the Stags' offense with three goals and two assists, having a hand in five of the team's nine goals. The senior has three goals and two assists for a team-best eight points, picking up a point in four of his nine appearances this year.
Thomas Drillien netted his third goal of the season to tie Filipe for the top spot in that category.
William Marment returned to the starting lineup as the Stags' goalkeeper, allowing one goal and making one save in the win over Niagara.
Monmouth joins Marist at the only two remaining unbeaten teams in MAAC play, both sitting on top of the standings with unblemished 2-0 records. The Hawks picked up a pair of 1-0 wins last week, edging Rider in overtime and Saint Peter's on the road. The team scored 10 goals in its first three games of the season, posting a 2-0-1 record during that start. Julian Gomez leads the offense with three goals and two assists for eight points. Goalkeeper Sean Murray owns a 0.72 goals against average with a .825 save percentage off 33 saves in nine starts.
Siena brings a 5-4-1 overall record into the weekend which includes a 1-1-0 mark in MAAC play. The Saints have a solid 3-1-1 record over their last five games including a 1-0 win over Manhattan and a 3-2 setback against Quinnipiac on the road. Jacob Sandun Arachchige-Jensen represents the team's top scorer with two goals and five assists for nine points, slightly higher than Bilal Hersi's seven points which comes off a team-best three goals and an assist. Goalkeeper Greg Monroe has played a majority of the minutes for the Saints, sporting a 1.50 goals against average with a .754 save percentage and 4.6 saves per game.
Following this road trip, the Stags will return to campus for a pair of matches against Manhattan College on October 13 and Iona College on October 16. Both matches will begin at 7 pm.
