FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After a sun-soaked summer, the Fairfield University campus will host their first collegiate athletic event of the season as the Fairfield Women's Soccer opens up their 2022 campaign, hosting the UMass Minutewomen on Sunday at 4pm. The Stags, who were chosen third in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, will open up their 31st varsity season at Lessing Field.
The Stags will return 21 letterwinners from last year's team that advanced to the MAAC Semifinals after posting nine wins during the regular season.
Fairfield will also return five goal scorers from a season ago, led by junior
Elle Scott, who tied for the team lead with seven goals in 2021 and was voted to the Preseason All-MAAC squad. The speedy Scott will be joined up front by a young group comprised of three freshmen, a sophomore, a junior, and one senior.
The trio of first-year Stags:
Maddy Theriault,
Alex Darcy, and
Jess Lynskey bring pace and power up front with the three players combining for over 100 goals scored in their senior seasons, led by Theriault's 61 scores. Junior
Angela Filosa brings experience to the group after appearing in 11 matches last season and scoring a goal against Holy Cross. Sophomore
Tori Sarf and senior
Rachel Dobricki will also bring experience and leadership to the group.
The Fairfield midfield will consist of nine returning players from 2021, headlined by two of the team's three captains in
Caroline Kelly and
Reagan Klarmann. The duo each appeared in all 20 matches last year and combined for two goals and three assists. Sophomore captain Klarmann was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team following her freshman season that included two goals and a game-winning score against Siena.
The Stags will have more experience in the midfield as they also bring back
Allie Kirby and
Maddie Kiely who appeared in all but one match and combined for four assists. Fairfield will also return
Sam Erickson, who missed the majority of last season with an injury. She will join the other returners:
Kristi Mikula,
Hannah Vogt,
Arden MacNeil, and
Lexi Cosentino who will all add experience to the unit.
Fairfield will welcome freshman
Sam Kersey and graduate transfer
Maddie Mills into the midfielder squad. Mills will have two years of eligibility after transferring from Dartmouth where she appeared in a career-high 16 matches in 2021 and was named an All-Ivy Honorable Mention.
The Fairfield back four will be headlined by a couple of returners in captain
Olivia Homan and senior
Kayla Leary. Homan missed the majority of the 2021 season with injury but brings the most experience into the defensive unit with 33 career appearances. The defensive unit will also bring back:
Sydney Corbett,
Corrin Motyka, and
Aubrey Silverman while welcoming freshmen
Kelsie Wandyes and
Meghan Carragher.
The defensive backs will also bring in grad transfer Tori Bike who appeared in 52 career matches for the Rhode Island Rams and was named to the NEWISA Senior Bowl.
In net, the Stags will bring back starting goalkeeper
Gena Pike, who notched five wins with a .717 save percentage in 13 matches last season. She was also named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week twice and also got into the scoring column by netting the game-tying goal against Sacred Heart.
The Stags will be meeting UMass for the seventh time in school history, with Fairfield trying for their first win against the Minutewomen since 2005.
Fairfield will be opening up their season at home for the fourth-straight season and hold a 15-3-2 record at Lessing Field in the last three seasons. Lessing Field is a cashless venue. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting fairfieldstags.com/tix. All tickets are distributed digitally and fans who purchase in advance may proceed directly to the main entrance to Lessing Field.
Fairfield will hit the road for the next two matches, starting with a Thursday night game at Holy Cross at 7pm.
