Fairfield 0 Boston College 0

The Fairfield Stags Men's soccer team (1-1-3) battled #13 Boston College (2-0-2) to a scoreless draw last night. It is the second straight tie for the Stags. Click here for a complete recap.

The Least You Should Know:
-Michael O'Keeffe extended his scoreless streak to 281 minutes. He made 5 saves in the contest including a diving stop in the closing minutes.

-The Eagles outshot the Stags 17-11 including 6-3 on goal.

-In the 99th minute, Fairfield's shot hit the crossbar and Adam Cowen got the rebound but the Eagle's goalkeeper managed to save it and force a second overtime

Do the Stags win this game with Jack Burridge? It's questionable but you can certainly make the argument. All-in-all this is a GREAT game for the Stags. I mean even though they did not pull off the upset they showed that they can go face to face with some of the best teams. For a team that lost aganist winless Albany to start the year this is a HUGE step in the right direction and with only a few non-conference games left, this team might be getting hot at the right time.

Up Next:
The Stags play their sixth straight home game as they host the Northeastern Huskies Friday at 7PM.

Jack Burridge out for season

Stags forward Jack Burridge will be out for the season due to an injury sustained on the game on Saturday. The leading scorer from last year suffered broken bones in his elbow and dislocated other parts and underwent a three hour surgery. He will redshirt and should be good for next year.

This is a big setback for the Stags losing their leading scorer again. As shown last year in the MAAC Championships and the first two games of this year they are not the same team without him. The Stags were 1-0-1 with Burridge in the lineup this year. This is the second year he will miss time with an injury.

The First Step to Greatness

The Fairfield University men's basketball team will welcome three new freshmen for the 2010-2011 season. At the end of the last school year, Coach Cooley thought there would be five new recruits, but with the departure of Adam Jones and Majok Majok, the team will try to pick up the pieces. Without these two players, the Stags still have a respectable incoming class. Fairfield was recently featured on the front page of ESPN.com recruiting page. Last year, we were one basket away from heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. But it was all about the impact player. Derek Needham flew under everyone's radar. The MAAC Rookie of the Year, was the best rookie that the program has every seen and arguably the best the conference has ever seen. Will this class have an impact player? A Needham impact player?

#23 Jamel Fields (Albany NY) Every place you look there is one word that you see over and over again. Intangible. According to scout.com, a 2 star recruit who is a strong finisher at the rim. This will blend well with Needham and Colin Nickerson who I feel are great finishers at the rim. Cooley and the scouts have also commented on his speed and quickness. This is going to be a strength for this team. They are going to have to try and combat for the lack of height through their speed. This is basically a guard team who can keep up with anyone on the floor.

Field's downsides include his decision making. This is one aspect that I am not worried about when it comes learning under Coach Cooley. Derek Needham grew so much last year if you look at the start and end of the season. Needham made some awful decisions on the court the first part of the year making some crucial turnovers. By the end of the year he became on of the best passers in school history. I do expect any freshman to struggle with decisions when arriving on the college scene. It is only human nature. So many differences exist between the college and high school games. What really shows your skill and talent is your ability to fight through it.

ESPN Grade: 82

#41 Keith Matthews (Sebastian FL) He was his high-schools all-time winningest player with 86 victories through his four years. Also racking up a program record 1,867 points which led him to a McDonalds All-American nominee.

ESPN calls this guy a great playmaker who plays like an oversixed power forward because of his lack of offensive skills. I have talked to people who have said that Cooley feels like Matthews could be "the best player [I] have ever coached." They say that he is athletic and can finish above the rim. I have never seen this guy play but they say he can be explosive.

What worries me is that he is not going to be able to use his size aganist the people in the college game. At only 6'5'' the same moves that he used in high school simply wont work now.

ESPN Grade: 78

#15 Maurice Barrow (Middle Village NY) This is the guy that many sources have as our new impact player. His scouting report, however, does not lead up to a Derek Needham impact player. "He is a jack of all trades and a master of none," ESPN says. "He possesses the versatility and willingness to be a valuable role player at the mid-major level," the report continues. He averaged 12.4 PPG and 6.5 rebounds per game as a senior and led his team to the CHSAA Class AA intersectional championship by recording a double-double.

His skills include his strength and being able to score with both hands around the basket. The Stags are going to NEED a replacement for Anthony Johnson who was able to do that same thing. They need an offensive presence who can change the momentum of the game. Peanut was able to get the fans behind the team with his monstrous dunks and that is something that the Stags might have to rely on Barrow to do.

ESPN Rank 84

Who will be the next Derek Needham impact player? Will there be one? With the lingering injuries the Stags are going to experience this year they are need to going to have depth. Needham and Nickerson added that bench depth and both were dangerous when they were on the floor. Can this class be the same thing? Or will it be like the 2008 class in which Brandon Davis, Jamal Turner, and Shimeek Johnson all have transferred and only Ryan Olander and Sean Crawford is left? We will find out. And the journey should be fun.

Erik Ilisije and Michael O' Keeffe earn all-MAAC honors

Fairfield Stags forward Erik Ilisije and goalie Michael O'Keeffe earned all MAAC honors from the previous week. For the complete story click here.

Ilisije scored 2 goals in the week with both of the tallies coming in a 2-1 win aganist the Yale Bulldogs on Lessing Field. Those were his first two points of the season and currently leads the team in scoring.

This seems to be a trademark for Ilisije. He seems to score in bunches. Last year he had a couple of multi goal games and finished with 6 on the season.

Michael O'Keeffe earned MAAC Defensive player of the week after only allowing one goal in over 180 minutes of play. The sophomore earned First Team All-MAAC last year and recorded his first shutout of the 2010 campaign. For the season he has allowed 1.09 goals per game.

I am happy for O'Keeffe because the talent is there. He struggled early and started to get down on himself. I talked with him after the tie with Bradley and he seemed upset. He told me that he apologized to his coach after the game, as well. Nice bounce back for the Kiwi. When he is on, he is one of the best in the MAAC.

Women's Soccer needs to bounce back

After a scorching start to the season, the Fairfield University women's soccer team has cooled off in their last three games. The team experienced their lowest point of the season when they were shut out by UMASS on a chilly Sunday. Coach Jim O'Brien had only one word to describe the loss: "embarrassed."

The team has now dropped to .500 after starting the season winning 3 in a row without allowing a goal. Since then, the team has been outscored 8-1 and has been outshot 73-18 over that span.

Despite the recent slide, this team has shown promise. They nearly upset #22 Georgetown by managing to bring them into overtime, and held their own against Boston College, the fifth best team in the country. Coming into this year, the Stags knew that this difficult schedule, which featured back-to-back games against nationally ranked teams, would test their skill and depth. "It's always important for us to have a challenging non-conference schedule," O' Brien said. The sixth year head coach has seen many successful teams at Fairfield. He ranks second in wins on the all-time school list and has led the Stags to at least nine wins in each of his seasons and a NCAA Tournament bid in two of those years. You can say he knows talent. And he sees the promise of this team, comparing them to the 2008 team. That squad received 16 votes in the final NSCAA National poll by winning the MAAC championship and only losing by a goal in the Big Dance.

The one aspect of the game that he is most worried about is the team's inability to bounce back after adversity. "The way games are scheduled is to play Friday and Sunday, so you have to get over the tough losses." The ability to recuperate after these types of games defines the character of any team. It would be hard for any group who just had a heartbreaking narrow upset to come back and play an even better school in less than a week. However, O'Brien can see this now and is trying to improve early in the campaign. The loss to UMASS might have been the wakeup call that the team needed. "It's back to the drawing board," O'Brien sighed. If Fairfield is to be successful they are going to have to not just forget but learn from this "embarrassing" loss. That journey will begin when the team travels to Stony Brook on Thursday. Maybe it is a change of scenery that will help propel this promising team and have all their talent pay off.

UMASS 4 Fairfield 0

The Fairfield Stags women's soccer team (3-3) were shutout by UMASS (3-2) yesterday at Lessing Field. Click here for a complete boxscore and recap.

The Least You Should Know:

-Coach O'Brien called the loss "in one word embarassing."

-The Stags have now lost 3 in a row.

-They have been outshot 71-18 in that span.

This was as bad of a loss you can get. For a team that held their own aganist two nationally ranked teams, to show up flat and get blown out by UMASS is really an embarassment. They really just showed no life and some of the goals looked like it could have been prevented if it wasn't for mishandling by the defense.

Up Next:

The Stags will travel to Stony Brook on Thursday at 7 PM.

Fairfield Selected Number One in Four Preseason Polls

The Fairfield University Men's basketball team has been selected to win the MAAC in four different preseason media polls. According to the Bleacher Report, the Stags will finish first in front of the Sienna Saints, the Iona Gails, and the Saint Peter Peacocks respectfully.

However, the Bleacher Report states that the Stags top recruit, Majok Majok, will be an impact player. As you all know, Majok will no longer be a Stag in the upcoming season. The report also states that the only key loss to Fairfield is former center Anthony Johnson. They fail to mention the loss of MAAC sixth man of the year, Mike Evanovich. This former fifth year senior was a deadly threat at the three point line and made many clutch shots for Coach Cooley, most notably the buzzer beating shot to complete a twenty-seven point comeback against George Mason.

It's also interesting that they picked the Saints to finish second. The Sienna loses three of their big four from their last year, including their head coach, Fran McCaffrey who went to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Also, with the injury to Clarence Jackson can the Saints utilize all of their returning players. In order for the Saints to be successful, Jackson will need to have a breakout season.

Men's Lacrosse starts fall practice

The Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse team had their first official yesterday morning, according to sources. It was the first organized practice for the Stags as they will play 2 games in a tournament to continue their fall training. In these two games they will play Lehigh and Detroit Mercy. They will then host one Alumni game that will conclude their fall schedule.

Well, this s obviously the first step for an excited season. Last year they defeated the national runner up Notre Dame when they were ranked third in the country. Many people expect this team to make a national impact and hopefully we can make the NCAA Tournament next year.

Geehan to play in Israel

Former Stags forward Stephanie Geehan has signed a contract to play professionally in Israel. For the complete story click here.

According to sources, she will play for the Elizur Maccabi Netanya of the Israeli Women's Professional League this upcoming year. This is a team that has finished fourth in the league last year.

Geehan is the all-time MAAC and Fairfield shot blocker as well as a 1,000 point and 1,000 rebounder.

I am so thrilled for Geehan playing professionally. She was my favorite player on the team and it seemed like she could do no wrong on the court. Almost every game she filled up the boxscore with every single statistic and sometimes it was unheard of what she was able to do. She made following the 2009-2010 team exciting because you never knew what she would be able to do in the game. Good Luck!

Warren Edney still feeling pain

According to Chris Elsberry of the CT Post, Stags head coach Ed Cooley has stated that senior forward Warren Edney is still bothered by his right Achilles heel. This is the same injury that kept him out all of last year and most of the 2008 season. Cooley expects that Edney will have to play with some amount of pain this season. Edney averaged 9.1 PPG and shot 45% from the floor in 13 games in 2008.

Bad news just keep on mounting for the Stags. Edney showed alot of life and promise in 2008 until he got hurt. I mean scoring 22 points aganist Memphis and hitting the game winning shot aganist Iona was impressive. The Stags are still a good team without him but WITH him they could be dominant.

Kelly Boudreau named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week

Fairfield goalie Kelly Boudreau was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. This is the fourth time that the junior was awarded this honor in her career. The Farmington, Connecticut native played every second in goal for the Stags recording 13 saves and only allowing a .95 GAA. Through the first four games of the season she already has 3 shutouts and a dental floss .49 GAA!

Georgetown 2 Fairfield 1

The Fairfield Stags women's soccer team (3-1) became the latest victim of the #22 Georgetown Hoya (6-0) during the final game of the D.C. Invitational. For a complete recap click here.

The Least you should know:

-Ingrid Wells scored the first goal aganist the Stags this season during a penalty kick at 16:47 snapping a 286:47 shutout streak.

-After a missed penalty kick by the Hoyas, Shannon Fay turned it into a transition score. It was her first of her career.

-Samantha Baker made the game winning goal in overtime to stay undefeated.

-Kelly Boudreau made a season high 9 saves.

-The Hoyas outshot the Stags 24-4

This overtime loss made me believe in this team. I know they allowed 24 shots but they were only one kick away from taking down the 22nd best team in the nation. The Stags had looked dominant in their first 3 games and I hope that if this loss affects them it is only positive outlooks of the season.

Up Next:

The Stags will take on another ranked team when they host the #6 ranked Boston College Eagles Friday night on Lessing Field starting at 7 PM.

Fairfield Men/Women Recruiting Recap

In this post to the MAAC Blog they breakdown the recruiting class for both the men's and women's team. Without Adam Jones and Majok Majok, the men's recruiting class may not be what everyone thought before. The size is not there but the skill is.

Fairfield 2 Bradley 2

The Fairfield Stags men's soccer team (0-1-1) battled to a draw with the Bradley Braves (1-0-1) Friday night. Click here for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:

-Fairfield missed a bunch of offensive opportunities and were either outran by the defender or missed wide on the goal in breakaways.

-Adam Cowen scored the first goal of the Stags season and senior David Piedrahita followed with a penalty kick in the second half.

-Michael O'Keeffe made four saves

Bradley is a good team. Every time the Stags scored, the Braves beared down and looked to tie it up. This was a very physical matchup alsowith both teams exchanging words and having to be seperated afterwords. Although they have not won a game so far in the early campaign, Coach Rees says he likes what he has seen out of the team and remember it is only the nonconference games.

Up Next:

The Stags will play Tuesday night at 7 PM aganist Yale.

Georgia 3 Fairfield 0

The Fairfield Stags women's volleyball team (1-4) were shutout by the Georgia Bulldogs (5-0) in the second game of the Hampton's Inns and suites Colorado Classic. Click here for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:

-The Stags were held to an .011 hitting percentage and is hitting only .110 through the early season.

-Alex Lopez had her best game of the season with 3 kills and 6 digs.

-Rachel Romansky only had 18 assists. It was the first time all season she was held to less than 20 assits.

-Lauren Hughes and Stephanie Cruz did not play.

Another stat that scares me is the amount of blocks that the team had. The Stags recordedonly 2 blocks, while Georgia denied 22. Remember this is a team that lost the best middle blocker in its history with Katie Mann. Does the freshmen Hayley Moyer have what it takes to fill those shoes? Or who has to step up because throughout the campaign if you compare the amount of block assists, Fairfield has recorded 30 while the opposition has ammassed 104.

Up Next:

The Stags will play a double header on Saturday, the first game aganist the host team Northern Colorado 9 AM (MDT)

Fairfield 3 South Dakota 1

The Fairfield Stags women's volleyball team (1-3) defeated the South Dakota Coyotes yesterday in the first game of the Northern Colorado Classic. This was the first meeting between the two in program history. Click here for a complete boxscore and recap

The Least You Should Know:

-Brianna Dixion lead the team with kills with 13. She has had double digit kills in every game this year.

-Rachel Romansky recorded her first career double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs.

-The Stags did commit 33 errors and only hit .102.

-Lauren Hughes has a season high 10 kills.

Well, we are finally in the win column even though I was pretty concerned with the amount of errors that we comitted. I still think in order for us to succeed Lauren Hughes needs to have a good season and she had a good game. Rachel Romanksy continues to impress and she is "very good."

Tucker Nathan on ESPN 360 podcast

Stags second baseman Tucker Nathans is on an ESPN 360 podcast. The senior talks about his decision to leave soccer and focus mainly on baseball and his great summer playing for the Danbury Westeners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. To listen to the podcast click here.

To be honest with you I just became aware that Nathans was no longer on the soccer team but I agree with his choice. After all, teamed up the Hajjar the Stags might actually have a playoff team for Coach Slosar's last season. Also, this decision to focus mainly on baseball can better help him in future to get drafted in the 2011 MLB Draft.

Rachel Romansky named to all-Tournament Team

Stags freshmen Rachel Romansky has been named to the Colgate Classic All-Tournament Team after recording 91 assists and 14 kills her first 3 collegiate games.

Congrats to the first year player and hopefully this is only the beginning of good things to come. I was surprised that she got the starting nod over Lauren Balmert this season but she was ranked as one of the top 100 high school seniors.

New Soccer Uniforms

The men's and women's soccer teams will be wearing a new home uniform. As the picture shows it is a white shirt with the red stripes and looks much more professional than those of the past years.

I really like these uniforms and they really stick out in a good way. I know the team loves them and are really impressed. Now we just need to go do some winning.

Majok out? Nero in?

According to the MAAC Blog, high ranking officials say that there is a major paperwork issue that they do not think will work itself out and it appears that the highly touted incoming forward will ever play for the Stags. Several blogs have named Majok the "best newcomer" to the MAAC. It is also interesting to note that in the Stags basketball preseason prospectus, Majok is NOT listed on the roster and it also says the Greg Nero WILL play in the 2010-2011 season

In with the old out with the new it looks like. Majok was a highly regarded prospect on many message boards and it doen look like something has happened that will cause him to not play for the Stags in the upcoming year or maybe ever. About a week ago, I posted a link written by Chris Ellsbury stating that Nero deserved a scholarship because of everything he has done for this program. Well it looks like he will return for the upcoming campaign and get that scholarship. I am worried about the length of this team now though. Coach Cooley admitted that it was Siena's length that caused them to lose that game. On the current roster, there are only 2 Stags above 6'5'' (Nero and Olander). Guess we'll see how this story turns out.