POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- In the last to last game of the season, the Fairfield University men's soccer played to a draw for the first time. But that score gained a valuable point in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings, placing the Stags into a three-way tie for fourth place with Siena College and Niagara University heading into the final game of the regular season. The team will host Siena on Wednesday night at Lessing Field.

The Stags received some outstanding individual performances that blended together to provide enough to limit opportunities in the defensive third but at the same time enabled the team to counter and create inside the offensive third. Both teams played with a sense of urgency hoping to benefit from those valuable points in the conference standings. Both programs had a solid chance in the opening minutes beginning with Henrique Cruz's shot that Fairfield goalkeeper James Anderson to control the ball as it skipped along the turf. A few minutes later, Alex Marin release an attempt that caused Marist goalkeeper Sam Ilin stopped to preserve the status quo.

Fairfield continued to build with a progressive attack that worked the entire pitch, stretching the defense to open space around the box. The tactic paid off when Raz Amir secured the ball outside the box and sent a cross into the middle where Alex Oliveira perfectly timed his run for a header that eluded Ilin and found the upper left corner of the goal. The lead was short lived, about two minutes to be exact, as Marist was awarded a penalty kick after an attacker was brought down. Jacob Schulman presided over the ball and sent the ball to the opposite corner to level the game at 1-1 with just under 20 minutes remaining in the half.

The Red Foxes doubled up the Stags over the final 18 minutes of the half, outshooting the visitors by a 4-2 count during that time. Two of Marist's shots required action from Anderson but the junior handled both without providing any follow up. The final tally after the first 45 minutes put Marist to the positive with eight shots as compared to Fairfield's four shots.

The second half required Marist to play with more urgency, but the Stags adjusted well to the added pressure as the back line kept most challenges at a distance. But when Marist was able to build opportunity, Anderson was ready to keep the game as it was as he made a pair of saves over the final 45 minutes. Of his five saves for the night, none was more impressive than his final stop. With under two minutes remaining, Cruz hit a volley squarely that put the ball toward the near post. Anderson was able to deflect the ball with a dive that resulted in a corner kick but kept the game tied.

"We had several individual efforts that collectively led us to success," Head Coach Carl Rees said. "Marc Tirado gave us a great effort by controlling tempo. Juan Pablo (Leano) and Viggo (Sjoberg) have been consistent for us all year long and provided central defense down the spine of the team. James (Anderson) made several big saves for us down the stretch. And we received outstanding play from the back line as we have throughout the season."

Fairfield and Siena will meet on Wednesday, November 2 with game time slated for 7 pm.