Lake Buena Vista, Fla. -- Make it a dozen for Head Coach Carl Rees and the Fairfield University men's soccer team. The Stags extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games following a 3-1 win over Marist College in the MAAC Championship semifinal game. More importantly, the victory sends the team to the MAAC Championship final on Monday afternoon. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3 begining at noon.
Just like in its quarterfinal game, the Stags struck early, this time scoring the game's first goal just 10 minutes into the game. Fairfield was awarded a free kick after Marist was called for a foul. Daniel Shaw stood over the ball and sent it into the box toward junior Adam Cowen. The defender went high into the air and redirected the pass with a header, pushing the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead just 9:20 into the game.
"We have started well all season long," Coach Rees said. "We know we are a fast starting team so we have been successful at switching on right from the start. The ball was presented well to Adam and he finished it. If it is a quality delivery to Adam, he will almost always finish the play. He is nearly impossible to defend."
The score would remain at 1-0 for the rest of the half despite several runs by Marist late in the half. The Red Foxes earned seven corner kicks in the opening half, but could not make anything of the chances. Despite having seven corners, Marist was only able to muster four shots in the first 45 minutes.
Fairfield came out of halftime with another quick strike, scoring less than four minutes into the second half. Freshman Jordan Ayris finished his scoring chance with a shot that beat goalkeeper Steve Skonieczny to the upper far corner of the goal. The play began with Jon Clements creating a shot that Skonieczny was able to deflect. The ball caromed back to Ayris who one-timed a shot past the outstretched goalkeeper.
The Red Foxes finally broke through with a goal in the 57th minute when Lucas Szabo scored off passes from Tim Garger and Alex George. The goal was the first by a Fairfield opponent since October 16, a stretch of 436 straight scoreless minutes by Stags goalkeeper Michael O'Keeffe. Ironically, Marist was the last team to score against the Stags in a 2-1 Fairfield win in Poughkeepsie.
"After the goal, the team stayed assertive and imposed itself on Marist," Coach Rees said, "That added pressure often creates more opportunities for us. That's another reason why we have been successful down the stretch."
That added pressure finally paid off late in the game. The Stags were awarded another free kick after a foul, setting the ball to the left side of the box about 20 yards from goal. Clements took the free kick and struck the ball which hugged the turf as it headed toward goal. Burridge stood in front of the goal, about four yards away, and deflected Clements' cross past the Marist goalkeeper for a 3-1 Stags lead.
"This team has a real thirst for tactical skills," Rees said. "These guys just really compete every minute of the game. That drive and determination is so important in a tournament like this. Playing three games in four days in not easy, but this group has accepted the challenge."
O'Keeffe finished the game with two saves for Fairfield, while Skonieczny tallied six saves in his 90 minutes of work.
Fairfield will play the winner of the tournament's second semifinal between sixth-seeded Manhattan College and second-seeded Iona College.