FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University Women's Soccer team dominated on both sides of the ball against CAA squad Northeastern, leading to an impressive 2-1 victory over the Huskies on Lessing Field. Maddie Mills and Sam Kersey provided the goals for the Stags, who won their sixth-straight home match dating back to last season and now hold an 11-1-1 record on Lessing Field in the last two years.
 
"I'm just really proud of the players," Head Coach David Barrett said. "They really performed at a high level. They played with great determination, which they always do, but their execution was very sound tonight. We had a tactical approach that we wanted to take to slow them down and get good chances against a really good goalkeeper and we did exactly what we talked about. I'm proud of the players, they worked really hard. Comparing where we were when we played them a year ago, it's 180 degrees difference."
 
The Stags dominated on both sides of the ball against a Northeastern side that was pre-ranked third in the CAA by out-shooting the Huskies 16-6 with a 10-3 advantage on shots on goal. Fairfield also took all nine corner kicks in the match, including six in the first half.
 
Despite their dominance, the Stags would have to come back to win the match after falling behind on a Vivian Akyirem goal in the 26th minute. That shot would be just one of the two shots on target that the Fairfield back four would allow.
 
The Stags would need just nine minutes to tie the score as Maddie Mills unleashed a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal for her second goal of the season. Mills was playing in her first contest in just over two weeks and made an immediate contribution in the midfield. The goal was set up by a Reagan Klarmann shot that was deflected off the defender and found the right foot of Mills.
 
Fairfield came out firing in the second half, taking three-straight shots on target in a 90 second span, testing the Northeastern goalkeeper Holland Stam. Maddy Theriault had back-to-back attempts but both were stopped by the keeper.
 
The score would stay tied until the 75th minute when Fairfield was awarded a free kick on a Northeastern yellow card. Meghan Carragher presided over the set piece and sent a ball toward the back post where Kersey was able to get her head on the shot and redirect the ball into the right corner for her second career score.
 
Fairfield would hold the lead and would only allow one Northeastern shot over the final 15 minutes. The Fairfield back four Olivia Homan, Carragher, Sydney Corbett, and Kayla Leary had their best performance of the season, allowing a season-low six shots and just two on target. Leary was really a bright spot on the defense, fighting for possession on a variety of occasions, and was able to win the ball back.
 
The Stags will now head on the road for the first time in the month of September when they visit Dartmouth on Sunday at 3pm.