FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A pair of second half goals was the difference in tonight's match as the Fairfield University men's soccer team dropped its regular-season finale to Sacred Heart University at Lessing Field.
While the score may not reflect it, the Stags put forth a rigorous effort that provided the team with several early opportunities. After
Evan Chomow made a save in the 11
th minute, the Fairfield offense clicked and began to pressure the Pioneers back line.
The Stags put together a run of six consecutive shots over an 11-minute span with half of those attempts coming from the foot of
Pipeloore Olanrewaju. By the end of the first half, Fairfield went into the locker room with a 6-4 advantage in shots with Chomow being forced to make two saves.
The second half saw more of an open flow that resulted in more opportunities for both sides. Sacred Heart was the first to complete one of those opportunities in the 51
st minute. Daniel Dokov found some open space on the left side and sent a ball to the right corner of the box. Nicolas Ochoa accepted the ball and put a shot to the lower right corner of the goal to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
Cristian Ortiz took over the match after the Sacred Heart goal and nearly tied the score on three different occasions. The first chance involved a dribble and cut back that cleared an opening through which Ortiz sent a shot toward the upper corner. The ball hit the cross bar and was sent back into play toward
Massimo Murania. The forward sent the ball back toward goal but a Sacred Heart defender deflected the ball.
A few minutes later, Ortiz carried the ball across the box toward the right side of the goal. He unleashed a shot that skipped past the post, just a foot away from the post.
Ortiz nearly provided the tying play once again in the 73
rd minute when he sent a cross to the far post which
Drew Thompson hit in stride. Thompson's volley just went over the cross bar to keep the one-goal deficit intact.
The Pioneers put the game out of reach when they were awarded a penalty kick in the 82
nd minute. Danny Istambouli stood over the ball and finished the kick for the Pioneers' second goal.
Despite the score, Fairfield outshot Sacred Heart by a 15-8 margin and kept the visitors in a defensive posture for most of the match. Now, the Stags will focus on the upcoming Metro Conference Championship which begins with the first round on Saturday. Fairfield is the top-seed as the regular-season champion and will automatically advance to the semifinals next week.
"I am really proud of the guys to finish the season on top," Head Coach
Krystian Witkowski said. "This was not the result we wanted tonight but I thought it was actually one of our best performances against a good side that is very well coached. Now, we are looking forward to the playoffs."
