One year removed from its second MAAC championship in program history, Quinnipiac men’s soccer closed out a failed title defense season with a crushing 2-0 loss at Fairfield Wednesday. The Bobcats finished the season 3-9-5 overall and 1-5-4 in the MAAC ending the campaign ninth in the conference.
Having won just one conference game this season, Quinnipiac looked to end the year on a high note against a struggling Fairfield who had only two MAAC wins entering the contest..
But the Stags controlled the pace in the early portion of the first half and struck first in the 20th minute after sophomore midfielder William Pierce found graduate student midfielder Malachy McGovern for his first goal of the season. The game would remain 1-0 in favor of the Stags after 45 minutes. Fairfield out-shot Quinnipiac 8-3 in the first half and were also awarded seven corner kicks to the Bobcats’ three.
The script would be turned on its head to start the second half as Quinnipiac roared back and put Fairfield on its heels. This time it was the Bobcats who out-shot the Stags 5-1 and had six corner kick opportunities while only conceding one to Fairfield. Despite all of this pressure, Quinnipiac was unable to best Stags senior goalkeeper James Anderson.
In the 74th minute of action, senior forward Raz Amir connected with sophomore midfielder Brett Sieg for his first goal of the season to push the Stags lead to 2-0. Fairfield would hold onto this lead in the final minutes to surpass Quinnipiac in the MAAC standings and collect its third conference win.
Although both teams entered last night’s matchup eliminated from playoff contention, the school’s long-standing rivalry kept the intensity high. There were 23 total fouls committed between the two teams along with six yellow cards issued.
Quinnipiac falls to 7-3-4 all-time against Fairfield since their first matchup in 2013. This win from the Stags also ties the largest goal differential in any meeting between the two squads, the last two goal game was in 2014, when the Bobcats took a 2-0 win.
The last time Quinnipiac finished ninth in the MAAC was in 2021, the next season they were MAAC champions. The Bobcats will look to fill the departures of seven fifth-year students and possibly two additional seniors in hopes of reclaiming the MAAC title once again in 2024.
