Box Score

            Goals are tangible and often get most of the attention. Defense is intangible and sometimes gets lost in the box score. But the more than 1,000 fans that filled Lessing Field on Saturday night sure took notice of the soccer team's defensive effort, especially the play of goalkeeper Jon Paul Francini, and applauded the effort in a 1-0 win over Yale University in the Stags home opener.

            The defense ran down long balls that penetrated deep into the defensive third of the pitch, and cleared the ball to the side which kept the Bulldogs off-stride for most of the night. And when Yale managed to slice through the defense, Francini was there to keep the visitors off the board.

            The Bulldogs had a chance in the opening minutes when Eric Meyer innocently ran down a ball on the left side of the box. He shuffled his feet, looking to pass the ball but the Stags defense would not allow it. With no one open, Meyer released a shot from eight yards which Francini caught off a dive to the right side.

            Yale had another threat that stopped the hearts of Fairfield fans when the ball got past Francini and rolled to the back of the net. However, the linesman stood on the right touch line with his flag raised to signal offsides and negate the goal.

            Three minutes later, Fairfield took advantage of a quick counter that found Matthew Uy to the far right side of the field. He drew the defenders to the right side, while Sam Bailey cut left into an open space. Uy sent the ball to the left side, where Bailey made a run. The senior redirected the ball to the left corner, beating goalkeeper Erik Geiger for the goal.

            "Matt (Uy) sent a great ball into the box," Bailey said. "He pulled the defenders one way and sent the ball to me going the other way which created the chance on the other side."

            Yale's last offensive chance of the half came in the 42^nd minute when a ball was flicked from the right side to the center of the box. Yale's Brad Rose one-timed the ball on goal, but Francini was able to find a way to get his hand on the ball and push the shot over the cross bar.

            "The ball came in off a flick," Francini said. "I knew that I had to get across the goal any way I could. I was able to get a hand on it and deflect."

            The Stags defense kept Yale in check for most of the second half, keeping the ball out of danger for most of the final 45 minutes. Although Yale applied pressure late, Jack Cleverley, Tom Skara, and Tom Clements kept the visitors off the scoreboard.

            "It's good to get a clean sheet against a very good Yale team," Head Coach Carl Rees said. "We are still trying to put it together. We weren't playing our best soccer tonight, but we grinded it out."

            Rees also took notice of the Fairfield fans who were loud and proud.

            "God bless them," Rees said. "We have fantastic fans. We go all over the country and no one beats the color, the pageantry and the numbers that we have at our games. Their participation certainly lifts our team."