FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Preparing for today's regular-season finale started long before Sunday, the day after the Fairfield University men's soccer team finished off a 0-0 draw with Rider on Saturday night. While Head Coach
Carl Rees may not have discussed personnel of or strategy against Manhattan yet, he started planning how to use his roster during a stretch that included three games in five days with the Jaspers ending the challenging run.
Rees appeared to be spot on with his rotations and roster management as the Stags looked strong and agile against the Jaspers which resulted in a 2-0 win on Fairfield's senior day. Fairfield earned seven points during the five-day stretch with two wins and a draw which sets the team up well when the conference announces the postseason tournament pairings at the end of the week.
"We have strength and depth," Coach Rees said. "The mentality side of things is a large part of it but fatigue still becomes a factor. We rotated players through the five days. The Rider game was key because we could introduce some players to playing time and gauge where those guys are and give our traditional starters a break."
Rees also toyed with when to insert players regardless of whether they were starters or not. Today, he brought
Jonathan Filipe into the game off the bench which proved masterful as the junior repaid Rees with the team's second goal on a brilliant run that only could be produced with freshness. Add in rested versions of
Santiago Gonzalez who maneuvered around the pitch with purpose and a strong showing by
Nadav Zarmi and you can see how Rees' ability to manipulate the lineup worked in Fairfield's favor.
"We rested Santiago completely against Rider because I was preparing for this game and he was a major contributor today," Rees said. "Nadav came in and did a great job. The spine of the team is the stability and leadership of the likes of
Cormac Pike,
Matt McGlinchey,
Thomas Drillien up front and
Gordon Botterill in goal. I am really proud of them because this was a crazy part of the schedule. To come through with seven points in three games one of which was an overtime away game with Rider is just tremendous."
McGlinchey scored the team's first goal after being stopped on a penalty kick which was sent up when Drillien drew two defenders in the box and was taken down by one Jasper about six yards from goal. It took a remarkable diving save by Manhattan goalkeeper Quinn Stahmer to squelch the Fairfield chance despite a well-placed shot from McGlinchey that seemed destined for the back of the net.
Just minutes later, Fairfield was on the board following some nifty midfield play that ended when
Daniel Raimondo sent a brilliant cross to the far post where McGlinchey was stationed. The senior leaped above his defender and flicked the ball to the opposite corner of the goal with a header to give the Stags a one goal lead.
The home team put the game out of reach in the 80
th minute when McGlinchey took control of the ball in what seemed a harmless area of the pitch about 10 yards on the Stags defensive side. With the wind at his back, he sent a long ball that cleared most of the Manhattan defense and found Filipe who worked his way beyond the Manhattan back line. He ran down the ball on right side of the box, turned quickly and sent a shot past the charging goalkeeper that found the far corner of the goal.
Botterill was not tested often but was on task when any shot seemed poised for the goal. He made three saves in the first half but aggressively took away opportunities by intercepting crosses or coming off his line when the situation mandated over the final 45 minutes of play.
The result proved to be a fitting end to the regular season for the Class of 2021 celebrated on this senior day, a group that secured a regular-season conference title as well as a MAAC Tournament championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth during its time on campus.
"It's another group that has won a championship here with a national tournament experience," Coach Rees said. "The best part of my job is the people who come through our program. But we never bid them farewell, it is always fare forward. They will always be part of our group as all of our alumni are."
