Oct. 26, 2006
There are few concepts easier to grasp then "Win and In", but for the Fairfield University women's soccer team, that is all they need to do, to secure a spot in the 2006 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Soccer Championships. The defending champions, Fairfield is hosting this year's tournament, with the semifinals Friday, November 3 at 4 p.m., and 7 p.m., and the final, live on ESPNU, Sunday, November 5 at 1:30 p.m.
The Stags, 8-5-4 overall, will host Canisius, Friday at 7 p.m., and Niagara, Sunday at noon, as they look to advance to the four-team tournament. A win in either of the two games will clinch at least a spot in the MAAC Tournament, which might be good enough, considering the Stags are the only five-seed in women's soccer history to win the MAAC Tournament.
Fairfield is currently third with 14 points, two behind Siena and one ahead of Niagara, who along with Loyola, 21 points, would qualify if the season ended today. A pair of Stag wins would give them the second seed, while a win and a loss by Niagara and Siena, would accomplish the same thing. Siena will play Marist on Friday night at 7 p.m., in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Winning, while the best option to qualify for the tournament, is not the only way in for the Stags. A loss by both Manhattan and Rider in one of their final two games, they meet on Sunday, would also give the Stags a berth.
The Stags have been ranked 15th in the Northeast Region, each of the past two weeks, in the SoccerBuzz.com polls. Fairfield has also earned votes in the region in each of the last two weeks in the NSCAA poll.
Rookie Casey Frobey enters the weekend as the Stags leading scorer with 26 points, on a team-best 12 goals and two assists. The goals rank her third in the MAAC, and third in program history for goals in a single-season. She is ranked 21st nationally in goals per game, and is fourth in that category among rookies.
Junior Brett Maron continues to excel as one of the top keepers in the league, region and perhaps the nation. She is tops in the MAAC in goals against average, an impressive 0.96, and save percentage, 81.6 percent. She has recorded 71 saves and six shutouts this season.
Also impressive on the offensive end have been Ahna Johnson and Alex Caram, the Stags top returning scoring threats from a year ago. Caram, the MVP of the 2005 MAAC Tournament has notched five goals and a team-best five assists, for 15 points. Johnson, a member of the 2005 All-MAAC Rookie Team, has four goals and four assists, for 12 points.
Canisius enters the Friday night game with a 5-11-1 overall mark and a record of 2-4-1 in the MAAC. With seven points, mathematically they can still force a tie for fourth place in the league with Niagara, but would lose the tiebreaker with Niagara and Manhattan.
The Stags will honor their senior class prior to the Sunday game against Niagara. Katie Ely, Laura Mrowka and Betsy Nyman, will play their last scheduled home game that afternoon.
Niagara is 8-6-1 on the year and 4-2-1 in MAAC play. The Purple Eagles boast the two top scorers in the league entering the weekend with Stephanie Gartley, 21 points on 13 goals, and Brittany Bisnott, 30 points, on 14 goals. They are the most potent offense in the league, averaging 3.0 goals per game, but are near the bottom of the league, allowing 2.29 goals per outing to their opponents.
Fairfield defeated Niagara 2-1 in the 2005 MAAC Championship Game, to earn the programs fourth-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament.
