Stags Athletes to Take Part in a Talent Show

The Fairfield Stags will host their first ever Stag Athletic Talent show on Saturday, January 29th at 7PM at Alumni Hall. The event is sponsored by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and all proceeds from 50/50 raffles, concessions, and collection throughout the evening will be donated to the Grace Evanko Fund, a second grader from the Fairfield area who is battling an inoperable brain tumor. The event is free and open to the University community and public.

Grace and her family enjoyed spending time with members of SAAC at the women’s basketball game against Niagara University on January 23. "It was a great opportunity to meet Grace and her family, get to know them, as well as support the women’s basketball team,” said SAAC co-president, and women’s lacrosse player Kelley Brady.

More student-athletes will have the chance to meet Grace and her family as well this Saturday night as all 20 varsity programs will be putting on an act, or helping with set-up and concessions.

The student-athletes will have five minutes to show the crowd their talent. "It will be an exciting event for the teams to show their creative side in a fun competition. The event is another way for the student-athletes to come together as a group, instead of 20 different teams,” said Senior Associate Director of Athletics and SAAC Advisor Alison Sexton.

Each team will perform in front of a panel of guest judges including head men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley, as well as former FUSA president Hutchinson Williams. Items to be raffled include MAAC apparel, Harlem Globetrotter tickets, digital camera picture frame and much more! So come out to Alumni Hall this Saturday, January 29 at 7 pm to support the Stags and a great cause.

This is an absolutely terrific story, I did watch the video of her father speaking about the event and he seems like a great guy. This event will be a segment on the next episode of Stags Country. But this is a great chance to see the Stags perform at Alumni, in a different way then they are used to but for an even better cause.

Most of the pieces I have heard are dance numbers but I have also heard rumors that there will be a circus act and Keith Matthews will display his ball dribbliing abilities.

Fairfield Teams Up with Stretch Internet

Fairfield University has announced a new partnership with Stretch Internet to broadcast the remaining collegiate events. The first game will be Friday night with the women's soccer team hosting Manhattan. For the full story click here.




Prices Include:
All-Access Package- all events that Fairfield broadcasts $125 per year
Fall Broadcast- all fall sports (soccer, volleyball, field hockey) $69
Basketball Broadcast $99
Lacrosse Broadcast $49
Per-game Fee $7.95

The game broadcasts will STILL be broadcasted on wvof.org, and the audio from that will also be available on the internet broadcast. A full schedule will be announced shortly.

Click here to get started!

WVOF to air Soccer and Volleyball Games

WVOF has announced that they will air most of the remaining home conference games for men's and women's soccer and volleyball for the season. The first game will be on Friday at 7:00 PM and can be listened to by clicking here. Or go to wvof.org and click on "Listen to Web Stream"

New Hampshire 1 Fairfield 0

The Fairfield Stags Men's Soccer team (1-3-4) was shutout by the New Hampshire Wildcats (5-0-2) last night. Click for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know:
- The lone goal of the game came just 5 minutes into the first half. Michael O'Keeffe had a solid 85:00 of shutout soccer tallying up 9 saves.

- The Stags were out shot 10-5 on goal.

- Fairfield has not won since September 6th. They are 0-2-3 over that span.

Just like the women's soccer team I am concerned about the offense. They did have lots of shots. The bright spot of this is that the players you rely on all had these shots on goal. Jon Clements the freshmen, had two shots on goal and Erik Ilisije had 1 of his own. It's the law of averages. If they keep shooting it and making the best of their opportunities then these goals will end up touching the back of the net sooner or later.

Up Next:
The Stags travel to battle the University of Rhode Island on Saturday, October 2nd.

Michael O'Keeffe wins MAAC Defensive Player of the Week

Stags goalie Michael O'Keeffe has won his second consective MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. He allowed 1 goal in his last three games including a shutout aganist Boston College. He had a 333 minute consecitive scoreless streak snapped and leads the MAAC in save percentage and goals per game.

Very underrated in terms of the MAAC and Fairfield. He has the chance to be one of the best players to ever put on a Stags uniform. I mean, he was named to the all-MAAC first team last year and is well on his way to be named that again.

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.

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.

Fairfield 2 Yale 1

The Fairfield Stags men's soccer team (1-1-1) edged the Yale Bulldogs (0-2) by the score of 2-1 to win their first game of the season. Click here for a complete recap.

The Least You Should Know:

-Erik Ilisije scored both Fairfield goals including the GWG in the second overtime. It was his first two goals of the season.

- Jack Burridge played in his first game after missing nearly six over the past two years.

- Michael O'Keeffe made a great diving stop to keep the game tied in overtime.

- The Stags outshot their opponent once again by a 11-8 margin.

This is the game that you want to see from the Stags and I do not think it is a coincidence that this happened when Jack Burridge returned to the lineup. He was their leading scorer last year and they do not look the same without him.

This was the third straight game where the Stags held the edge in the shot category. If they continue this then their scoring will have to increase. That is an important stat.

Up Next:

The Stags will play their fourth straight home game Saturday afternoon when they host UMASS at 2:00

Men's Soccer still excited for upcoming year

The 2010-2011 Fairfield Stags men's soccer season kicked off Wednesday night against the University of Albany, the first of their long home stand to begin the campaign. Throughout their successful history, Fairfield has been blessed with teams that were considerable threats in their conference, the region, and in some years the nation. The team hopes that this upcoming year will prove to be another of those special seasons. Picked to finish second in the MAAC, the Stags return their two top scorers, their First Team All-MAAC Goalie, and 9 of their starters from a year ago. With all these pieces in place the Stags looked at their difficult non-conference schedule highlighted by games with UMASS and Boston College as games that can show them where they stand against the top schools.

The year did not get off to the start that they envisioned when they lost to the University of Albany 2-0 in front of a packed crowed that reached 850 fans. It was the first win for the Great Danes since 2008, after finishing last year with a record of 0-13-3. "We were bitterly disappointed," remarked Head Coach Carl Rees. But the result was not the only thing that frustrated the team it was also the thought of letting down their fans, "we had the bleachers jampacked with Fairfield faithful and we felt we let them down it was a missed opportunity for us to demonstrate our pride and how hard we can work," Rees also said. The Stags dominated their opposition in almost every category, Albany's 2009 MVP Adrian Foncette made 9 saves to thwart a Stags comeback.

The Stags offense showed up in Game number 2 against Bradley when they battled to a 2-2 tie. Adam Cowen scored the first goal of the Stags season with senior David Piedrahita following with a penalty kick in the next half. The Braves, who finished in last place in the MVC last year, also proved to be a hard loss for the Stags.

Besides going winless through the first two games, Rees is not worried about his team, "I want to see progress and improvement in the team and I've seen that." The Stags faithful have also enjoyed what they have seen. There has been a new energy at Lessing Field. Over 1,000 combined Fairfield fans swarmed the bleachers, cheering, and even doing the wave so far in both games. The crowd's energy is also an important part for the team, "It's such a great atmosphere. It's a big assest for us and a big strength for us." For a team that is expected to finish high in their conference they hope that the fans will continue making Lessing Field a place of energy and excitement as the team and their fans get ready for the ride that both hope will lead to a MAAC Title.

B2 Games to start on Tuesday

Starting Tuesday, September 7th Fairfield University will once again begin broadcasting their home games on the B2 Network. Fans can watch live streams of the game for only a small fee by searching on the Stags Website. For the fall sports, Fairfield will broadcast all the home games (weather permitting) of men's and women's soccer, volleyball, and field hockey. Also new this year, the student broadcasters for WVOF will serve as the play-by-play and color commentators.

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.

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.

Albany 2 Fairfield 0

The Fairfield Stags (0-1) were stunned by the Albany Great Danes (1-0) last night to start off the season. Albany wins it's first game since 2008. Click here for a full recap.

The Least You Should Know:

-Fairfield did have their opportunities with 15 shots and having 9 of them on goal. Kwadwo Asante mad a terrfic play but Adrian Foncette made an amazing stop to deflect the kick just above the net.

-The first goal came because of a loose ball turnover and they scored on a breakaway.

-Once again: Albany won their first game since 2008.

-850 people showed up to watch the defeat.

I know that it's Albany and their leading scorer last year had 5 total points but they did have some bright lights. I was very impressed with their goal keeper. Last year he played every minute of every game and finished with 1.66 goals per game good enough to win team MVP. He had 9 saves last night but that wasn't even close to his career high when he stopped a NCAA Division 1 program record with 16 aganist Colgate.

The Stags did play aggressively in the first half but they did not cash in on their opportunities. This is not how you want to start off your season. There were 850 energetic fans who were cheering and even during the wave! They were into the game. At least the team did not show up flat for their opening game. At the end of the day, this is a non-conference game and it is a good thing that they have time to improve offensively before they start with their conference slate. They should have help when Jack Burridge will suit up, "probably at the third game of the season."

Up Next

The Stags will continue their 7 game homestand opposing Bradley University Friday night at 7 PM.

Mens Soccer Recruting Class has a more Local feel

A year after the Stags signed 4 New Zealand born recruits the class of 2014 has more local players. With 4 out of 5 of the incoming freshmen around the Tri-State area it looks like Coach Rees is trying to get more of a local flare. Here is a breakdown of the class.

Anthony Arena- (D, Seaford NY, St Anthony's)
He's a defender who has also been known to score. He ranked 25th in the New York area in points with 8 all with 4 goals. His team the St. Anthony's Friars looks like a power house in the league. The same school as Joe Michaelson (men's tennis team) and Larry Cornelia (men's baseball) was 30-3 overall and had 6 players ranked in the top 25.

Wow the defenders on this team are very young. Erik Ilisije is probably the most experienced defender on the team but combined with the now sophmore Kiwis, Johnny Raj and Adam Cowen, the defense looks very young and talented. Now I think the big area that we need to improve on is offense because it looks like our defense it set for the next couple of years.

Patrick Bellero- (MF, Melville NY, Half Hollow Hills)
A mid-fielder who scored 10 goals in a season. He took the corner kicks for his team which finished 18-11 overall.

I don't think he will be taking the corner kicks for the Stags but I do like the fact that he is a scorer. We are losing a pretty consistent player in Christian Uy who was one of the best passers the school has seen. With 3 midfielders in this class hopefully one of them can step up and be that presence.

Matthew Danaher- (MF, Trumbull CT, St. Joseph)

He has his own highlight reel. He made the first team all-FCIAC the only one on his team to do so.

Wow this guy looks like the real deal. In his various highlight packages he is clearly able to blast past offender and is great at getting the ball to mid field. He can use his quickness and strength which is a deadly package. I think he might be the strongest in the class.


Matteo Marzoli- (MF, Westport CT, Staples)

He was a part of the youngest team in Staples history and they were almost undefeated.
This kid seems to have a very strong leg. Various reports say that he has scored on free kicks from around 50 yards! He was also the player that the team looked to to set up the offense and was great at clearing the ball.



Jon Clements- (Boreham Woods, England)


This player seems to have alot of intangibles. His old coach used words such as "ambassador" and remarked that he also "played a massive in our promotion"


How about this. For Woods he scored over 80 goals in just 2 seasons! WOW!

2010 Mens Soccer Schedule

For the complete schedule click here.

This looks like a great schedule for the team. We should be at the top of the MAAC while only graduating a few seniors from last year and having Jack Burridge healthy.

What I'm most impressed with is having 7 straight home games to begin the year. Hopefully we get a fan fare for a couple of those including: Boston College and U Mass.

2010 Stags Try to Head in the Right Direction- Men's Soccer Preview

It was on their home field. In front of their fans. On the grass they have been playing on their entire career. It was their time to shine. But the 2009 Fairfield Stags soccer team fell to the Loyola Greyhounds in the semifinals of last years MAAC Championship. The 3-0 loss marked the end to a season built on finishing strong. After starting the season 1-4, the Stags went 7-1-2 in their next 10 games. For the preseason number 2 ranked team in the MAAC, not making the finals on their home field was a disappointment. Getting over the hump from last year and starting off the season strong could be the biggest weakness for this team. But the 2010 Stags have something to prove, and are trying to get the Fairfield men’s soccer program back to its prominence.

The Stags only lose one key player from last years 9-6-2 squad. Graduating is their former captain Christian Uy who was tied for the most assists on the team and tallied the third most points for the Stags. However injuries can also play a key factor for Fairfield. Jack Cleverly, the senior from Dorset, England, tore his ACL and will be out to at least October. Last year, Cleverly returned to capture a spot on the first team all MAAC squad. He appeared in all 18 games during the 2009 season, and was a key player in the Stags defensive efforts. He scored one goal during the season, netting the team's only goal in a 1-1 tie with Siena College. The Stags dealt with injuries last year which could have been a reason for their early exit. Their leading scorer, Jack Burridge had a set back which forced him to miss the entire MAAC Championship. Without this threat, the Stags were noticeably missing a big threat on the field scoring only 2 goals in their last 4 games.

So with the loss of the 2008 MAAC Tournament MVP who can the Stags rely on to get them back to another MAAC Title? This squad will be comprised of a extremely experienced groups of individuals. 10 seniors will be asked to become leaders on and off the field. But who should you watch out for in the up coming year? Three players should become the focal point on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
1) Erik Ilisije SR (Manapalan NJ). Illisije placed second on the team with 12 total points, all of which came off six goals. He enjoyed a hot dtreak midway through the season where he netted five goals over a three-game span against MAAC opponents. The forward started the run with a goal against Saint Peter's, and followed with a pair of goals against Manhattan and Rider. For the Stags to have any chance at the MAAC Crown, they must have the 2009 MAAC Second Team Representive become more consistent throughout the entire season.
2) Matthew Uy SR (New Hyde Park, NY). Matthew Uy was one of the team's top all-around players, registering six points. He was also one of the team's best defenders, giving the team support both offensive and defensively. Uy recorded one goal and four assists during the year.
3) Michael O'Keeffe SO (Christchurch NZ). O'Keeffe was named to the All-MAAC first team in his first year in the states. He recorded four shutouts and a 1.19 goals against average in 17 starts. He played 1514 minutes and posted 74 saves for a .787 save percentage. Hopefully a sophmore slump doesn't register for the goalie. However, a stronger defense will make his job much easier in the upcoming season.

However, this "is not a team of superstars" according to O'Keeffe. Their main focus is to play as a single unit. The now sophmore goal keeper states that the biggest strength of the squad is size. It allows the Stags to "be more threatening in set pieces and defending set pieces." Size will defintely be a factor for this group. The average height of the team will be 5'11 and their leading scorer towers in at 6'3 and weighes 190 pounds. Strength and size will lead to more offensive and defensive breaks.

The field for the MAAC Conference will be changing as well in the upcoming campaign. The defending champions, Loyola Greyhounds return 5 of their top 6 scorers but lose the offensive and defensive player of the year. While Iona, who spent the last part of 2009 ranked as high as 10th in the nation, will have to persevere without their two top scorers, who accounted for 50% of the total team goals, and arguably the best goalie in the conference in Nils Binstock. Both teams experience big losses to the make up of their team, but the depth that was created through recruiting should save the season for the Greyhounds and the Gaels.

The 2010 Stags enter the season on a mission. Not being able to defend their MAAC title was a disappointment for the players on the team. Some players start out with little goals to begin the year. O'Keeffe's goal is to "go out of conference without a loss" which will give this team the confidence to win some crucial games down the stretch. In order to take home the MAAC trophy, the Stags would have to go to Loyola which hosts the Championship tournament. Can you see it now? The Stags trying revenging the Greyhounds for defeating them on their home field just last year. With just a couple of months left before the season start, the Stags are ready to make this thought a reality.