It was a fitting Saturday afternoon at Lessing Field as Fairfield’s seniors led the team to a 4-2 win over Manhattan University in celebration of Senior Day. This victory for the Stags confirmed their spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) playoffs.
Fairfield’s record now stands at 13-1-3, 8-0-2, with Saturday’s game extending their current win streak to five.
Before kickoff, players, coaches and fans honored the Fairfield women’s soccer senior class – Katie Wright, Emilie Cook, Meghan Carragher, Maddy Theriault, Sam Kersey, Jess Lynskey and Alex Darcy – to recognise their leadership and contributions to the team and program over the past four seasons.
Even though the Jaspers opened up the scoring, the Stags were quick to cancel out their lead with a goal from Kayleigh Lukasik in the 17th minute. Junior Brooke Walonis, first-year Payton Zaun and Theriault also got their names on the scoreboard.
Recording 23 shots in this matchup, and 28 in their previous 6-0 win against Rider last Wednesday, Fairfield’s attacking strength continues to bring the team success on the field.
Theriault’s goal marked her thirteenth of the season, bringing her points total to 30 – with her and Zaun’s standout performances earning them MAAC Player of the Week and MAAC Rookie of the Week honors respectively.
Theriault’s goal on Saturday meant she has now scored in the past four games, bringing her career total to 44 goals, which is the second most in program history.
Head Coach David Barrett shared his thoughts on the team’s performance:
“We’re pleased with the result. Anytime we can take care of a league opponent and get three points is important.”
Barrett also praised Manhattan’s performance, as they provided the Stags with a good challenge in the build up to the MAAC playoffs: “Credit to Manhattan because they play really hard, they never quit, and they compete. That’s a good lesson for us as we move forward.”
This win for the Stags’ senior class marked their 55th win of their careers, which is the joint-second largest among any senior class in program history.
Fairfield’s next matchup is this Saturday at 12 p.m. on Lessing Field against Niagara University. Looking at the history between the two sides, Fairfield holds the upper hand with a 24-12-3 record, and 14-4 record at home.
The last time the teams played saw the Stags come out victorious with a 4-1 win, where they outshot the Purple Eagles 36-4.
With this game serving as Fairfield’s penultimate fixture and final home game of the regular season, the Stags will look to maintain their form heading into the postseason. Fairfield currently tops the MAAC standings and has already secured a position in the playoff, while Niagara sits in ninth place.
