Oct. 2, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Juniors Sam Bailey (Cheshire, England) and Jon Paul Francini (Oakland, N.J.) received weekly honors from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) after helping the Fairfield University men's soccer team post three victories last week. Francini earned the defensive player of the week for the second time this season, while Bailey picked up the offensive player of the week for the first time in 2006.
Bailey played a key role in two MAAC victories last week, as he tallied two game-winning goals. He netted the team's second goal in a 3-1 win over Siena on Friday night. The forward followed up by scoring the game's lone goal with 33 seconds left in regulation, lifting his teammates to a 1-0 win over Marist on Sunday. Bailey currently places second on the team with eight points, registering three goals and two assists in nine games.
Francini posted his first collegiate shutout with the victory over Marist, making three saves in the game. He also kept Siena scoreless for 81 minutes before Head Coach Carl Rees made a substitution with a 3-0 lead. Francini allowed just one goal in 263 minutes and owned a .947 save percentage (18 saves, one goal allowed) for the week. He did not allow any goals in 171 minutes of work against two MAAC opponents during the week.
The Stags improved to 6-2-1 overall and 2-0-0 in MAAC play following last week's results. The three victories improved the team's regular-season home winning streak to 13 games. Fairfield returns to the road on Wednesday for an intrastate match up with Yale University, followed by a Saturday afternoon conference game with Iona College.
