Sept. 29, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- You can make it an even dozen for the Fairfield University men's soccer team. The Stags regular-season unbeaten streak improved to 12 games (9-0-3) with a 3-1 win over Siena College, and gave the team a 1-0 start to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) portion of their schedule.
Mike Lentine picked up a pair of assists in the first half which gave the Stags all they would need to earn this victory tonight. Fairfield took a 1-0 lead off a free kick in the ninth minute of the game. David Piedrahita took the kick and sent the ball to Lentine, who sent the ball over to Mike Troy. Troy finished the play by pushing a shot past Siena goalkeeper Patrick Henry.
Lentine almost made it 2-0 when he recovered a rebound just a few yards from the goal, and drilled a shot that hit the cross bar and skipped over the post to keep the game at 1-0. The midfielder made up for that missed opportunity with a solid play from the center of the pitch, lofting a long cross to the right side of the box which hit Sam Bailey in stride. Bailey moved toward the goal and beat the charging keeper to the left side for a 2-0 lead.
The Stags kept their aggressive attack in gear for most of the second half as well, finally breaking through 11 minutes into the half. Bailey placed a perfect pass to Paul McQuade who broke free to the left of the box. He secured the ball and sent a shot into the upper part of the goal for a 3-0 lead.
Siena made a few runs late in the game, including two chances by Mike DeSimone. On the second of two corner kicks in succession, the sophomore worked his way to a loose ball in the box and released a shot to the lower right corner. However, Fairfield goalkeeper Jon Paul Francini dove and placed his hands on the ball to keep the shutout in tact. DeSimone had another opportunity 10 minutes later, but Francini came out of the goal, cut down the angle, and forced the shot wide right.
The Saints took advantage of miscommunication in the Fairfield defensive third as goalkeeper Matt Cleveland came rushing out of the goal to prevent a break opportunity. Siena's Robert DiFilippo beat his defender and Cleveland to the ball and just rolled the ball into the unattended net for a goal with seven seconds remaining on the clock.
Francini made six saves for Fairfield, while Henry tallied five stops for Siena.
Fairfield returns to action on Sunday, October 1 when it hosts Marist College in a MAAC game. Game time is slated for 1 pm.
