FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Once again, the road will be calling out the Fairfield University men's soccer team as the Stags will make a quick trip to Iona University on Saturday afternoon. The match will be Fairfield's first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) road date of the 2024 season, but will the program's seventh date away from campus this season.
The Stags have fared well over their last three contests, sporting a 2-0-1 mark which includes a 2-1 win over Marist College in both school's MAAC opener last weekend. Fairfield's three-game unbeaten run also includes a road win over Columbia University and a scoreless draw with nationally-ranked UConn a week ago.
With the exception of next Wednesday's road game with Lehigh University, Head Coach
Krystian Witkowski will be focusing in on conference play for the rest of the season. The program plays seven of its last eight against MAAC foes, beginning with this Saturday's matinee at Iona University.
Fairfield had some familiar names and one first-timer play a role in the its win against the Red Foxes.
Devin Zachry set up both goals with those assists being strong enough for the freshman to win his third overall and second straight MAAC Rookie of the Week award.
His first assist went the way of Fairfield leading scorer
William Pierce, who finished the pass for the team's first goal and his fifth of the season. The second set came via a free kick from Alex Olivera which Zachry headed over to
Jordan Blunschi and the defender posted his first goal as a Stag for the game winner.
Viktor Nikolov played well in both games from last week, picking up a clean sheet against #24 UConn by making three saves before adding five more stops in the Marist decision. The goalkeeper currently owns a 2.75 goals against average and a .563 save percentage off 27 saves in nine appearances.
Iona picked up a win in its MAAC opener as well, defeating defending conference champion Rider University by a 1-0 count at home. The Fairfield match will represent the fourth straight home game for the Gaels, posting a 2-1 mark through the first three games of the home stand.
Sergio Gonzalez Fernandez posted the deciding goal against Rider and raised his team leading total to five goals in eight appearances. He is the only multiple goal scorer for the Gaels as eight other student-athletes have one goal on the season. Thiago Cagna places second among his teammates with six total points, a number aided by his team-high four assists.
Fernando Alves Schmelz has performed well in the Iona goal through his six appearances, registering a 1.45 goals against average with a .667 save percentage off 16 saves. For his efforts in the Rider match, Schmelz earned the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week award.
Following the Iona match, Fairfield will remain on the road for a date with Lehigh University on October 15. The Stags play their next home game on Saturday, October 19 when Rider University comes to Lessing Field for a 7 pm start.
