BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Fairfield University men's soccer team opened the 2020-21 season with a strong showing on both ends of the pitch which led to the Stags starting the campaign with a 2-0 win over Canisius College. The game was the first of seven matches against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponents this spring. The result was the first time that the Stags opened a season by scoring twice since defeating Oregon State by a 2-1 count on the road in the first game of the 2017 season.
Today, Head Coach
Carl Rees witnessed his team score a goal in each half by pressing forward and applying pressure up front that eventually paid dividends. The early attack led to a couple of shots in just the first two minutes of the game which included an attempt by
Cormac Pike and
Jonathan Filipe. Fairfield would go on to take nine shots in the first half but it was the eighth try that put the team on the scoreboard for the first time this year.
Matt McGlinchey, the team's leader in assists in 2019, sent a ball toward Pike who converted the pass into a goal.Â
Canisius had limited chance in the first 45 minutes, managing just three shots in the half. Two of those attempts challenged goalkeeper
Gordon Botterill and forced him to make a save. Botterill would need to make only one more save in the game which came in the second half. The senior earned a shutout with three saves over his 90 minutes on his line.
The second half also saw Fairfield clamp down when Canisius entered the Stags' defensive third, limiting chances with strong play by the back four. The Golden Griffs secured just two shots in the final 45 minutes while Fairfield created four attempts in the second half. Newcomer
Alex Oliveira made the most of his time on the pitch after earning the start in his debut.
Daniel Raimondo controlled the ball in the right corner and sent a cross into the box where Oliveira made a run from the top of the box toward the ball and released a shot that beat the goalkeeper to the lower corner, bringing the score to 2-0.
"We controlled the tempo tonight and had good quality possessions in the final third," Coach Rees said. "We had a great effort from our back four which showed resilience and provided us with a good platform to start our attack. Today was a collective effort in what proved to be a physical game."
Fairfield outshot Canisius by 13-5 count by registering nine attempts in the first half and four more tries in the second half.Â
The Stags will have a week before returning to the pitch when they play their home opener against Quinnipiac University on March 18. The teams will meet on Lessing Field beginning at 1 pm. The game will be the first of three home games on the 2021 spring schedule.
