ANDOVER, Mass. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team picked up a point in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings with tonight's 2-2 draw with Merrimack College.

The Stags controlled tempo early in the match which set up them for scoring chances throughout the first 20 minutes. Fairfield's first opportunity came in the 13^th minute when Alex Oliviera sent a shot toward the lower corner that was grabbed by goalkeeper Nelton Semedo. Just three minutes later, Sam Danner nearly secured the game's first goal with a shot from outside the box that clipped the cross bar and went out of play.

With the pressure continuing, Fairfield need just one more minute to gain the lead. Danner was involved in the play once again, sending a pass to the far post where Jordan Blunschi was able to put a header into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.

Merrimack appeared to tie the game in the 21^st minute but the play was waved off when offsides was called on the right side. The Stags endured the same fate four minutes later when they seemed to put the ball into the net before offsides negated the team's goal.

The Warriors were able to tie the game in the 42^nd minute when Samuel Biven was able to secure the ball inside the box and place a shot just inside the post to seemingly send the teams into halftime tied. Fairfield had a different idea though and was able to put one more goal on the board before intermission.

With seconds on the clock, Fairfield earned a corner kick and was able to set up a play before time expired. The result was a goal from Stephen Perno who was able to finish the scoring chance which was set up by Cody Read and William Pierce.

Scoring chances were not as plentiful in the second half although Merrimack was able to get things started quickly when Adam Abdelaal sent a shot to the lower corner which goalkeeper Viktor Nikolov was able to collect before any further danger.

Pierce provided some excitement in the 65^th minute when he corralled the ball at the top of the box and sent hard shot at the goal but it was turned away by Semedo. A minute later, Pierce found open space in the box and was able to redirect a shot that nearly eluded the goalkeeper but Semedo was able to eventually gain control of the ball.

Merrimack tied the game with eight minutes remaining in the match after Carol Romei completed a scoring chance that ended up in the upper corner to bring the score to 2-2.

Fairfield outshot Merrimack by a 14-12 margin with Nikolov making two saves and Semedo registering seven stops.

The Stags will return to the pitch on Saturday when they travel to Saint Peter's University for a 3 pm match.