FAIRFIELD, Conn. – On two occasions, the Fairfield University men's soccer team found itself down a goal. And on two occasions, the Stags were able to find the tenacity to equalize against Lehigh University as the two teams battled to a 2-2 draw. The match represented Fairfield's home opener with the resulting settling the Stags record at 1-1-1 through the first three dates.
"I liked the resilience of the group to come back after being down two goals," Head Coach
Krystian Witkowski said after the game. "I thought we could have done a better job in possession to be more dangerous when we had the ball. We need to take away a few things from tonight and learn as we prepare for Columbia on Saturday."
Lehigh opened things up with a few quick possessions at the start of the match, but the Stags defense was well prepared to keep the ball away from becoming anything more precarious. Still, the Mountain Hawks were able to find their way to the game's first goal in the 15
th minute.
Luciano Larrea was responsible for the early lead when he took the ball from the left corner and carried to center box where he released his shot. The ball caromed off a Fairfield defender and found its way into the back of the net for the early edge.
The Stags were able to tie the game in the closing seconds of the first half, courtesy of extra work by
Cristian Ortiz. The sophomore started the opportunity with the team's best chance, a shot that was directed toward the near corner before goalkeeper Anton Kinnunen deflected out of play.
The resulting corner kick sent Ortiz to the flag where the midfielder sent a perfect cross to center box.
Jett Aktan rose above the back line and redirected the corner kick into the upper corner to tie the game with 32 seconds left in the half.
Once again, Lehigh took the lead in the 70
th minute after Thomas Robertson found open space just off the line where he collected a loose ball and sent it back into the goal for a 2-1 lead. But, the lead did not last long as the Stags were able to come back once again.
Just three minutes later,
Cristiano Carlos worked his way down the right flank before breaking toward the goal. The freshman sent the ball into the middle of the box where
Sean Albritton came away with the ball and sent a shot to the lower corner to bring the score to 2-2.
Cameron Gerber nearly claimed the lead for Fairfield in the 75
th minute when he took a chance from 20 yards away. The ball hit the left post and caromed back into play where the Lehigh back line was able to clear the ball.
The Fairfield University men's soccer team will return to action on Saturday, September 5 when it travels to Columbia University for a 4 pm match. The Stags return home on Saturday, September 12 when they host the University of New Haven for a 6 pm match at Lessing Field.
