FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the third straight match, the Fairfield University men's soccer team came off the pitch with a 1-1 draw, this time gaining the result against visiting Merrimack College at Lessing Field. The Stags also played Iona University and Rider University to the same decision in the previous two matches.

"We did enough to take three points but we came away with just one," Head Coach Krystian Witkowski said. "We are undefeated over our last four games (1-0-3) so I think that's a positive. If we keep performing by keeping the ball and staying aggressive with our chances, that's going to help us down the stretch."

Both teams scored their lone goal early in the second half with the two coming just two minutes apart. Fairfield posted the game's first goal in the 48^th minute while Merrimack tallied the equalizer in the 50^th minute.

The Stags were able to strike quickly on their scoring possession as Kaea Rangihaeata came away with a ball at the top corner of the box and brought the ball toward the endline. He sent a cross to the middle of the box where Pipeloore Olanrewaju was able to redirect the pass with his foot, sending the ball into the left corner of the goal.

The Warriors found their way to tying the score when Noah Santos collected a ball inside the box, saw it poked away but a Fairfield defender, before he was to gather it once again and place a shot into the upper left corner for the tying goal.

From that point, both teams exhibited spirited play with much more ball advancement and attacking on both sides of the pitch. Fairfield, which managed three shots through the first 45 minutes, was more creative in the second half and was able to put together 10 shots toward the Merrimack goal. Nine of those attempts came after Merrimack's goal including one from Daunte Tulloch in the 59^th minute that required attention from the goalkeeper.

Merrimack had some difficulty stringing together passes in its offensive third, resulting in five shots taken in the second half after marking six in the first 45 minutes. Fairfield goalkeeper Viktor Nikolov needed to make one save to keep Merrimack in reach while his counterpart Nelton Semedo was called on twice to make a stop.

The Fairfield University men's soccer team will now turn its attention to Manhattan University as the two teams meet on Saturday evening. The match is slated for 6 pm at Gaelic Park.