Nov. 14, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- If you look closely, you can still see remnants of a euphoric cloud that formed over the Fairfield University campus last Saturday after the men's soccer team defeated the University of Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA tournament. To Head Coach Carl Rees, that cloud blew past quickly because he and his lads know that they have yet another daunting task ahead of them.
The 23rd-ranked Stags will travel south for a Wednesday NCAA tournament second-round game against 20th-ranked Towson University at 2 pm. The winner of this game will play the winner of second-seeded Wake Forest University and Hofstra University. Towson received a first-round bye as the 15th-seeded team in the tournament.
Fairfield posted a 2-1 win over UConn in the first round last week, getting goals from freshman Christian Uy and senior Jimmy Gaughan. The fact that a rookie and a defender stepped up to score the goals should not be surprising to anyone who has followed the Stags all season long. It seems that a different player steps up each game to make a difference, which makes defending the Stags a much more frustrating task.
The Tigers enter Wednesday's game with a 14-1-3 overall record, and an unblemished 6-0-2 mark at home. The team has not lost a game since a 3-2 overtime decision against Hartwick in early September, and carries a 13-game unbeaten streak into the contest. Opponents have not had much success in getting a quick start against Towson either, as the Tigers have allowed just two first-half goals overall and just 11 in 18 games overall.
Sebastian Haenael leads the team in scoring with 22 points, netting team-highs with seven goals and eight assists. Pat Healey and Angus Burke have also reached double figures for scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Healey ranks second on the team with five goals, one more than Burke. Goalkeepers Billy Chiles and Greg Flaherty have split time this season, with Chiles playing 956 minutes (0.38 goals against average) and Flaherty securing 757 minutes (0.83 goals against average).
On the Fairfield side, Alex Cunliffe remains the team's top scorer with 20 points, netting eight goals and four assists. Sam Bailey places second among his teammates with 16 points (six goals and four assists). With his goal on Saturday, Uy is tied with Bailey for second in goals scored. Jon Paul Francini owns a 0.74 goals against average, which places 22nd in Division I and leads the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
