Oct. 13, 2006
RIVERDALE, N.Y. -- When one streak ends for the Fairfield University men's soccer team, it just picks up another one that is equally impressive. After seeing a 13-game regular-season home unbeaten streak end last Monday, the Stags extended their regular-season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) unbeaten streak to 14 games (13-0-1) with a 1-0 win over Manhattan College.
Fairfield, which has not lost a regular-season conference game since the 2004 campaign, used a first-half goal by freshman Paul McQuade to knock off the Jaspers. Fairfield's scoring opportunity started with a shot on goal that was knocked away by Manhattan goalkeeper John Ciano. McQuade controlled the rebound and pushed the ball right back on goal, beating Ciano for a 1-0 lead.
The Jaspers nearly tied the game with 14 minutes remaining in regulation when Dan Cipriano released a shot from 18 yards away. The ball headed toward the lower corner, but Sam Bailey cleared the ball off the goal line to preserve Fairfield's 1-0 advantage.
The two teams played evenly in the second half, with Manhattan holding a slight edge in shots (6-5) over the final 45 minutes of play. The two teams each took 10 shots in the game with Ciano having to make six saves and Jon Paul Francini tallied four saves. Francini posted his second save of the season, and lowered his goals against average to 0.90 for the season.
Fairfield returns to action when it travels to Saint Peter's College on Sunday for a 1 pm start.
