Coming off of an undefeated season and clinching a 2025 NIRSA Division title, the Fairfield men’s club soccer team is turning their attention to their next challenge: the NIRSA Region I Tournament at UMass Amherst from October 24-26.
While the exact dates and times for the tournament’s matches are not yet public, Fairfield was seeded fifth and selected into Group E of the NIRSA Region I draw.
The Stags are set up to face UMass Amherst, Brown University and Colby College as part of their weekend of play.
Even if their future is not certain, the players are taking things one game at a time and expressing their gratitude for living to play another few matches.
“Big few games, we got three games guaranteed,” said sophomore right back Mark Surretsky.
After completing their regular season 8-0, being the first team in program history to go undefeated, the team has gotten a chance to reflect on their season thus far and look forward to continuing play.
“It was great to see how close the team got both on and off the field,” said sophomore forward Luke James. “Our chemistry showed on the field,” he added.
The Stags will need more than chemistry to make it past the tournament unscathed, as Colby College is also undefeated this season within the North B division. Brown is 8-1-1 in the Eastern Massachusetts division. UMass is 6-1-1 within the Greater Berkshires division.
The tournament will feature 24 teams, with 18 divisional winners and six at-large.
James, who was out for most of the season due to a leg injury, is still confident in what the Stags bring to the table. “We looked like we got better almost every game we played. It was awesome to watch.”More information about the tournament can be found on imleagues.com in the coming days.