Fairfield University Athletics

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Fairfield University Women's Soccer team moved into sole possession of first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) table with an emphatic 6-0 win over Rider. The Stags put up a season-high with those six goals coming from five different scorers.
 
"We did what we needed to do tonight," Head Coach David Barrett said. "Our first few goals were really good strikes from distance and set a tone for the game early on."
 
Sam Kersey had the first two followed by goals from Ashley McMahon, Payton Zaun, and Maddy Theriault all coming in the first half. Kelly O'Connor added a second half tally to complete the 6-0 score line.  With the victory, combined with a Sacred Heart loss to Iona, the Stags move into the top spot in the conference standings with 23 points and a 7-0-2 record. Fairfield has also played one more match than the Pioneers.
 
Kersey put up her fourth and fifth goals of the season all coming in the first 16 minutes. Just six minutes into the match, Kersey ran down a ball from Alex Darcy and made a right foot strike on the edge of the box past the keeper.
 
She got her brace 10 minutes later with a left-footed strike in nearly the same spot on the pitch.
 
The Stags found success with their long-range shots in the first half, also getting a one-timer from McMahon (17th minute), a rocket from Zaun (27th minute), and a right-footed strike from Theriault.
 
Fairfield out-shot Rider 17-0 in the first half with that advantage ballooning to a 28-0 margin by the end of the match.
 
Fairfield completed their scoring when O'Connor put through a deflected shot from Ella Pisani in the 79th minute.
 
The Stags picked up their fourth-straight win while outscoring their opponents 15-0 during that stretch. Fairfield also improves their winning percentage to .867 with their 12-1-2 record, a number that ranks in the top-five in the nation.
 
With Pisani picking up her first points of the season, the Stags have collected points from 16 different players.
 
Fairfield will look to continue their momentum when they host Manhattan for Senior Day on Saturday at 1pm.