FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team will open up the home portion of its 2024 schedule when the Stags host Lafayette College on Saturday, August 31 at Lessing Field. The game is slated for a 7 pm start.

The Stags are coming off a pair of road games that opened the 2024 season, dropping decisions to Monmouth University and FDU. The team last opened a season with a pair of road game in 2022 when Fairfield split the pair with a setback to UMBC and a shutout win over Navy.

Head Coach Krystian Witkowski saw the explosive capability of his 2024 roster when the Stags scored three goals in the final 18 minutes of the contest against FDU on Monday. All three Fairfield scorers put their first career goal on the ledger during that 17-minute stretch as freshmen. Owen Drummond and Devin Zachry joined junior Mark Anastasio on the scoreboard. Drummond also added an assist to aid the Fairfield cause, giving him three points for the season.

Goalkeeper Viktor Nikolov has played every minute of both games, collecting one save in the FDU match after posting four stops in the opener against Monmouth. Last season, the goalkeeper played nearly 500 minutes over six appearances and made 15 saves with a 2.06 goals against average.

Lafayette College comes into the contest with a 1-0-1 overall record, playing a pair of games on its home pitch to start the season. The Leopards have used some late-game offense to post their pair of goals this year. Andrey McIntyre was responsible for the team's first goal of the new year, giving his team a 1-0 lead in the 79^th minute before UMass Lowell tallied the equalizer eight minutes later. Against Siena, Lafayette tallied the game's only goal off Cole Duschang's goal in the 70^th minute, a score which started off a free kick.

Griffin Huff has held down the back line for Lafayette as the goalkeepers has 12 saves to his credit through his first two appearances, . He owns a .923 save percentage with a 0.50 goals against average, surrendering just one goal in 180 minutes. He opened the season with a nine-save effort in the draw with UMass Lowell.

Following Saturday's match, the Stags will complete their two-game home swing with a match against Stonehill College on Wednesday, September 4 at Lessing Field. After that date, Fairfield will begin a four-game road strip that includes a stop at UConn on the final day of the trip, a 7 pm match on Tuesday, September 24.