FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team put forth one of its finest efforts of the season on Saturday night knowing that it would need to do just that against ninth-ranked and defending national champion University of Vermont.

And, the Stags gave the Catamounts all that they could handle before a second-half rally sent the visiting team past the home squad by a 4-2 count in front of a raucous 1,214 fans at Lessing Field.
Fairfield was the aggressor in the first 45 minutes, outshooting and outscoring their nationally-prominent opponent. In fact, it was the Stags that put the first goal of the game on the scoreboard thanks to a nifty starting run by Illia Tyrkus in the 26^th minute. The midfielder took the ball around midfield and beat several defenders with his footwork before sending the ball to Cameron Gerber. Gerber sent the ball quickly to the feet of Sean Albritton who pushed the ball into the far corner for the early lead.

The Stags were still not finished though as they made another solid run inside the box with under nine minutes remaining in the half. After the ball was sent in, a Vermont defender tried to clear the ball out of danger but instead the ball popped into the air. Jordan Blunschi was stationed well in position centrally in the box and hit a volley that evaded a fully-outstretched Niklas Herceg and landed in the upper corner of the goal.

By the time halftime came around, Fairfield was credited with five shots as compared to just two from Vermont, a strong credit to the back line play by the Stags. While Vermont earned three corner kicks in the half, none really amounted to any dangerous situations.

The second half found Vermont pushing forward with the intent of erasing that two-goal deficit. The Catamounts received a break when an attempt to clear the ball over the end line was mishit and landed in the back of the Fairfield goal for an own goal.

Midfielder Ryan Zellefrow took over the game from that point and made his own mark on the outcome of the game. The sophomore tied the game in the 69^th minute by finishing a scoring chance that started with passes from Andrew Millar and Toby Grant, finding the lower corner of the goal to deadlock the game at 2-2. Just 27 seconds later, Zellefrow accepted a pass from Nicolas Loebus that evaded a couple of defenders and landed in front of Zellefrow. The midfielder put a shot into the left corner to put Vermont in front for the first time at 3-2.

The Catamounts added one more goal in the 78^th minute when David Ismail found contested space on the right side of the box, releasing a shot that skipped into the right side of the goal for a 4-2 edge.

Evan Chomow made three saves in the Fairfield goal while his counterpart was forced to make one stop in the game. Vermont finished the contest with a slight 15-12 advantage in shots.

The Stags will return to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play for its next match, heading to Siena College on Saturday, September 27. The game is scheduled for a 3 pm start.