NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. -- While picking up points in the conference standings are critical this time of year, it's even more vital when you can grab three points on the road. The Fairfield University men's soccer team did just that this afternoon, riding Joseph Lozowski's second-half goal to a 1-0 win at Niagara University for the Stags' fourth win in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play. 

Niagara held play on the Stags's side of the pitch for a good portion of the first half, registering five shots through the first 45 minutes with two being on task. Goalkeeper James Anderson was able to handle those two shots on goal, turning both opportunities into saves. The junior tacked more minutes onto his scoreless minute streak in this match which would reach 275 minutes by game's end on the strength of his third straight clean sheet. 

While his play in the first half kept the game scoreless by halftime, Anderson was even more effective in the second half as the goalkeeper made five stops over the final 45 minutes to complete the match with seven saves. In the first 11 minutes of the second half, the Purple Eagles managed to place four shots on goal but came away without a goal. The home team had another opportunity late in the half when a shot seemed destined for the far corner but Joseph Stocchetti stepped in front to clear the ball off the line and away from danger.

The Stags stepped up their play in the second half in the offensive third as the team continually built up pressure as the half progressed. Fairfield managed to put six shots toward the Niagara goalkeeper Josh Savoni including one in the 74th minute which resulted in the game's only goal. After Niagara was called for an infraction, Viggo Sjoberg stepped to the ball and restarted play with a ball that landed inside the box. Savoni made an effort to collect the ball but it bounced up and hit the crossbar. The ball came back into play where Joseph Lozowski was waiting and the senior redirected the ball back into the goal with a header that gave the advantage to the Stags.

Fairfield nearly had a second goal in the closing two minutes as Raz Amir worked his way into the box and put two shots toward goal, the first of which required Savoni to make a save. After the goal, Fairfield's back line limited Niagara's advancement into the box and allowed just one shot over the final 16 minutes of the match. 

"We tried to create more pressure in the second half by connecting short passes to build opportunities," Head Coach Carl Rees said. "Niagara put pressure on us early but our defense was resilient throughout the game. Our league is so competitive so these type of games are not uncommon and it was nice to have one go our way."

Fairfield returns to the pitch on Wednesday, October 26 for at Iona College before finishing up its three-game road trip at Marist on October 28.