FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With the regular-season completed, the Fairfield University men's soccer team will now turn its focus to the 2026 Metro Conference Championship. The top-seeded Stags will travel to Merrimack College for a Wednesday night match in the semifinal round.
Fairfield captured the Metro regular-season title by posting an 8-2 record in conference play, leading Head Coach Krystian Witkowski's squad to a 10-3-3 overall mark. After a season-opening loss to nationally-ranked Marchall University, the Stags put together a 10-match unbeaten streak (8-0-2) that sent the program to the top of the Metro Conference standings.
Now, the team will look to continue its season with an appearance in the Metro semifinals against sixth-seeded Merrimack. The two teams did not meet during the regular season, last facing each in 2025 which resulted in a 1-1 draw in Fairfield.
The Stags dropped their regular-season finale against Sacred Heart, a 2-0 decision on November 4 that halted a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1). Merrimack advanced to the semifinals based on its 2-0 win over Quinnipiac University, the second victory over the Bobcats in as many games this year. Jonathan Kratz scored both goals in the decision, finding the back of the net in the 27
th and 83
rd minutes.
Kratz represents the team's top scorer with six goals and one assist for 13 points, nearly double Keller Cassidy's total of seven points off three goals and one assist. Two of Keller's goals were game winners, leading the team in that category. Mason Salvadge, who scored the game winner in the 1-0 win over Quinnipiac in the regular-season finale, has contributed two goals and one assist while Ziad Barakat leads the team with five assists.
Goalkeeper Matteo Malaguti ranks among the conference's elite in goal, sporting a 1.07 goals against average with a .750 save percentage off 57 saves in his 18 appearances.
The Stags' offense includes five student-athletes with four or more goals this season with
Cristiano Carlos and
Pipeloore Olanrewaju pacing the team with five each. The duo also accounts for half of the team's game-winning goals behind Carlos' three deciding goals and Olanrewaju's two winners. Carlos also has registered the most assists among his teammates with six, giving the freshman 26 points for the season over 15 appearances.
Evan Chomow leads the Metro with his 0.94 goals against average, the only goalkeeper in the conference with a mark below 1.00. He also has 46 saves in 15 matches which breaks down to a 0.767 save percentage along with four clean sheets.
The winner of the Fairfield-Merrimack match will advance to the Metro Conference championship game on November 14 and will travel to the winner of the second-seeded Marist University-Sacred Heart University semifinal.
