FAIRFIELD, CONN. - For the second straight year the Marist Men's Soccer team entered the MAAC Tournament as the #3 seed and came out the tournament champion. Marist defeated top seeded Fairfield in the championship game this afternoon 2-1 to take the title.
Keith Detelj (Sayville, N.Y.) was named tournament MVP as he scored three of the Red Foxes four goals in the tournament.
The two teams went back and forth in the first half, with both having opportunities to take the lead. Marist had their first good scoring chance just four minutes in as Detelj sent a crossing pass through the box that was tipped just wide. Nearly five minutes later Anthony Graci (Kings Park, N.Y.) had a shot from close range blocked and the rebound went right to Detelj who fired a shot off the side of the net. Detelj would have one more chance in the first half, as Graci sent him on a partial breakaway up the middle of the field. Fairfield's defense was able to recover just in time to force the shot wide.
The Stags did not go without their chances in the first half either. They held the advantage in shots in the first frame 6-3. Their first chance came on a 2-on-1, 15 minutes into the match, but the shot sailed wide of sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Owens (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.). Owens would then make one of the biggest saves of the season with just over 11 minutes to go before halftime. Fairfield's Kerr McLeod was able to get in behind the defense and send a pass in front of the net to Sam Bailey. Bailey fired a shot from close range but Owens was up to the task as he knocked the ball away to keep the game scoreless going into halftime.
In the second half the Stags were able to keep the play in the Marist defensive zone in the early stages. Just three minutes into the second Bailey ripped a shot that went just over top of the crossbar.
With the game still scoreless 10 minutes into the second, Marist got their first sustained pressure on the Stags since Detelj's breakout in the first half. It paid off when freshman Chris Nacca (Rochester, N.Y.) made a perfect pass to Detelj who took the ball in stride from 10 yards away and beat Fairfield keeper Andrew Frankel to the top left corner to give the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead.
Marist had a chance to extend their lead with 23 minutes left to play when Peter Rea (Bohemia, N.Y.) let a shot go from point blank range that Frankel was able to stop.
The Red Foxes would get their second goal when Detelj made a play in the corner and got the ball to the front of the net. After a funny bounce that put the ball off the Fairfield crossbar, freshman Steve Fantuzzo (Penfield, N.Y.) knocked the rebound in for a 2-0 lead.
Marist would continue to hold the Stags scoreless until the 86:34 mark, when Bailey took a pass from Tom Skara inside the box and beat Owens to the right post, cutting the Marist lead to 2-1.
Fairfield would keep pressure on, but they would not be able to tie the score. With just over 30 seconds remaining Kyle Nunes (Ossining, N.Y.) carried the ball the length of the field to kill the clock and give Marist the 2005 MAAC Tournament Championship.
For the match Fairfield held the advantage in shots 11-7, while shots on goal were knotted at 4-4. Fairfield also held the advantage in corner kicks 4-2.
Owens made three saves on the afternoon, while his counterpart Frankel stopped two Marist shots.
Following the match Detelj was named MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Bobby Van Dyke (Annapolis, Md.), Benjamin Castor (Richboro, Pa.) and Owens.
The win improves Marist's overall record to 10-8-1. Marist will play in the first round of the NCAA tournament on either November 18 or 19 against an opponent that will be announced during tomorrow's selection show. The show can be seen live on ESPNews tomorrow at 4 p.m.
