FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play, making the trip south to Rider University. In anticipation of inclement weather, the match has been rescheduled to Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
About The Series

• Fairfield and Rider will meet for the 36^th time this Sunday with the series currently standing at 20-12-3 in the Stags' favor. The Broncs have won the last three meetings including a victory in the 2021 MAAC Tournament in Lawrenceville. Before this current Rider run, Fairfield won 14 of 17 games played between 2005 and 2018. Of the 35 previous meetings, 24 of those matches involved a shutout which includes three scoreless draws (2011 2019, 2020).

About Fairfield

• The Stags posted their third multiple goal game in seven outings despite falling to Harvard University by a 4-2 score at Lessing Field. Last season, Fairfield scored two or more goals in six of 19 contests. The Stags' scoring rate is up this season, netting 14 goals in seven games (2.0 goals per game) as opposed to last year's rate of 19 goals in 19 games (1.00 per game).
• William Pierce scored both Fairfield goals in the Harvard game, including one off a penalty kick. Pierce currently leads the team in scoring with four goals and eight points, both of which tie him for the top spot in those categories among all MAAC student-athletes. The performance was his second two-goal performance, the first coming against another Ivy League foe Brown University. Pierce is the first to score twice in two different games in the same season since Jonathan Filipe netted two at Rider and three at Canisius in the 2021 campaign.
• Fairfield remains the top scoring team in the MAAC with 14 goals in seven games, averaging 2.00 goals per game. The 14 goals scored through the first seven games is the most by a Fairfield squad since the 2001 team recorded 24 goals through the first seven games.

About Rider

• The Broncs dropped their season opener at Seton Hall University by a 1-0 score but have not lost since that outing. Rider owns a 4-0-2 since the Seton Hall match, including a 2-0-1 mark at home. The team will host its fourth straight home game against Fairfield, already defeating Siena (1-0) and La Salle (3-1) in addition to playing to a scoreless draw against Penn. The Broncs sport the best winning percentage in the MAAC at .714 (4-1-2 overall).
• Rider spreads the scoring across the roster with seven different Broncs finding the back of the net this season. Babacar Diene and Ethan Shaw are the team's top scorers with two goals and four points each and both have one game-winning tally this season. Diene tied for the team lead in goal scoring last season with three in his 17 appearances.
• Goalkeeper Adam Salama has played in every minute for the Broncs, owning a 0.57 goals against average (four goals allowed) with a .833 save percentage which includes 20 saves.  He has three clean sheets to his credit with two coming in non-conference play (Penn and Saint Joseph's) and the third coming against MAAC opponent Siena.

What's Next

• Fairfield returns to Lessing Field for a weekend matinee against Niagara University on September 30. The match is scheduled for a 2 pm start.