Oct. 25, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- There are few things in college athletics that are certain. That's why Fairfield University Head Men's Soccer Coach Carl Rees feels very fortunate that he will take his 24th-ranked team to upstate New York this weekend with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) berth in his pocket, playing for positioning in the final standings. The Stags will play Canisius College on Friday night before ending the two-game trip with a Sunday afternoon game against Niagara.
Rees and his lads sit atop the MAAC standings with two games left on the regular-season schedule. They earned the right to play in the four-team conference tournament, which Fairfield University will host next week, by winning six of seven conference games to date for 18 total points. Four teams currently have 15 points or more - Fairfield, Niagara (17 points), Loyola (15 points), and Saint Peter's (15 points) with Iona and Canisius having an outside chance of leaping into the mix with good results this weekend.
The Stags are ranked second in the North Atlantic region, and hold the number 24 slot in the NSCAA National Coaches' Poll. Fairfield has been ranked in the coaches poll for four straight weeks, reaching as high as 15th. With a pair of wins this season, the program will equal last year's mark of 13 victories, which would be the third-highest win total under Rees. The Stags posted 15 wins in 1998 and 14 wins in 2000.
The team continues to receive strong play from its underclassmen, especially Paul McQuade and Christian Uy. McQuade places second on the team with 12 total points, which includes a team-high six assists. Uy has second on the team with five goals scored and third overall with 10 points. He has tallied a goal in four of the last seven games with all four scores being game-winners.
Alex Cunliffe remains the team's leading scorer with 16 points, tallying a team-best seven goals with a pair of assists. Goalkeeper Jon Paul Francini remains the conference's top goalkeeper with a 0.85 goals against average. He is tied for the MAAC lead with a .816 save percentage. Fairfield will face the number two and three goalkeepers in the MAAC statistics this weekend, going against Niagara's John Fiutowski (1.12 gaa) and Canisius' Matt Houghton (1.23 gaa).
Fairfield University will host both the men's and women's soccer tournaments next week. The men's semi-finals will be played on Thursday, November 2 at 4 pm and 7 pm. The women's semi-finals will take place on Friday, November 3 at 4 pm and 7 pm. The championship games will be played on Sunday, November 5 starting with the men's game at 11 am and the women's game at 1:30 pm. Both games will be televised live on ESPNU. All games will be played at Lessing Field, with the pairings to be announced on Monday.
