NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. -- The Fairfield University men's soccer team advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament semifinals with a 2-0 win over third-seeded Niagara University on Sunday afternoon. The sixth-seeded Stags will play their semifinal match on Thursday, November 11 against an opponent to be determined with the higher seed hosting the game.

The Stags made a run early in the game which resulted in the game's first goal just minutes into the first half. The scoring opportunity was set up by when Thomas Drillien and Daniel Raimondo facilitated Rasmus Sorensen Rejnhold with two quick passes that brought open space to the freshman. The forward finished the shot with a shot to the corner that pushed Fairfield in front at the 4:24 mark of the game. 

Over the next 15 minutes of play, Niagara seemed to get the better of possession which relates to the Purple Eagles taking four shots during that time frame but none were any threat to goalkeeper William Marment. As the half continued, the Stags' goalkeeper was summoned to play more of role which the graduate student accepted. Marment picked up his first save when on a shot from Emmaunel Obiefuna sent the goalkeeper to scramble for the save and keep the Stags on top.

By the time halftime came, the Purple Eagles held a slight advantage with seven shots to Fairfield's five attempts with both goalkeepers making two saves each. A few of Niagara's shots came off of its three corner kicks as compared to Fairfield single corner which came in the 37th minute but did produce a shot attempt.

In the second half, Niagara increased the pace with a sense of urgency as the team pushed forward with the hopes of finding the equalizer. On two occasions, the Purple Eagles nearly found their aspiration but were turned away in both instances by acrobatic saves from Marment. The first came when Marment fully extended to his left and caught a shot that seemed destined for the back of the net. The shot came from Jelldrik Dallman, who entered the game as the MAAC's leading scorer. Marment made two other saves in the half including one with just under two minutes remaining in regulation.

The Stags put the game out of reach with their second goal of the afternoon when Santiago Gonzalez collected a pass from Jonathan Filiipe and carried the ball across the top of the box. Once centrally located, Gonzalez released a shot that beat goalkeeper Josh Savoni to the opposite corner for a 2-0 Fairfield lead with just 11 minutes remaining in the regulation.

Niagara pushed forward once again but was able to collect just one real chance which came with under two minutes. Rodrigo Almeida was the Purple Eagle who was responsible for the attempt which demanded Marment dive fully to reach the shot on goal.

The Stags will await the remaining results of the MAAC tournament before finding out its semifinal opponent. At this time, fifth-seeded Rider University, sixth-seeded Fairfield University, and seventh-seeded Monmouth University each advanced to the next round with wins over higher seeded teams. Top-seeded Marist College was hosting eighth-seeded Manhattan College on Sunday night.