FAIRFIELD, Conn. - In the a hard-fought, evenly-matched battle between Marist and Fairfield a goal by junior Jackie Frey (Monroe, N.Y.) in the second minute proved to be the game-winner. A strong effort by the Red Foxes' defense, including eight saves by freshman goalkeeper Andrea Wicks (East Northport, N.Y.) held the Stags off the scoreboard to preserve the shutout.
The lone goal was scored at 1:56 as sophomore Samantha Panzner (Livingston, N.J.) played the ball up through the midfield and found Frey at the top of the 18. Once she had the ball, Frey fired a shot over Fairfield's goalkeeper Kelly Boudreau who was ranging out of her net to close in on the shooter.
The Red Foxes continued controlling possession and get quality offensive chances over the first 15 minutes of play. The team's next best opportunity to score was a series of crisp passes between freshman Amanda Epstein (Jericho, N.Y.), sophomore Rycke Guiney (Naperville, Ill.) and Frey that culminated with Frey ringing a shot off of the post.
Fairfield pressed a few times during that span of time with two quality opportunities denied by Red Fox defenders. The first chance was turned away by junior Chelsea Botta's (East Longmeadow, Mass.) strong back-tracking, while the second, a cross was cut off by Wicks.
The rest of the first half saw play flow evenly in a back and forth pace. Each squad had and an excellent chance to score leading up to half. Panzner was the facilitator of this opportunity again, as she booted a high, looping cross from the right wing inside the box that found senior Kathryn Hannis (Bloomsbury, N.J.), who put a strong header towards net. Hannis' effort barely missed giving Marist a 2-0 lead, as the ball missed by just a few inches to the left. Fairfield's chance was equally dangerous as Carly Beyar lofted a high shot from 25 yards out that seemed destined for the back of net until Wicks made an athletic, leaping stop to punch the ball over the cross bar.
Coming out of halftime, the Red Foxes withstood a Fairfield attack that pressed hard for the equalizing goal. With the Stags holding slight advantage in possession, Marist had to maximize the most of the chances on offense.
Frey was a player who found herself involved in both of the Red Foxes' best two second half scoring occasions. In the 70th minute, Panzner and Frey worked together to cut through Fairfield's defense and get the junior forward a shot on goal, that beat Boudreau, but ricocheted off of the back left post. A few minutes later off of a Hannis header, Frey and Boudreau met again as the keeper cut off a possible shot before her foot found the ball.
The team closed out the action with more smart, consistent and defensive-minded soccer to earn their third clean sheet of the season.
For the game, Fairfield outshot Marist 8-7 with all eight of the Stags' shots find the net. The Red Foxes' lone shot on goal was Frey's tally.
Wicks completed her 90 minutes of action with eight saves to earn her first career shutout and third career victory.
Marist improves to 7-4-0 (2-0-0 in MAAC) while Fairfield drops to 3-3-3 (1-1-0 in MAAC).
The Red Foxes will next be in action on Friday, Oct. 7 when they host Saint Peter's in a 7 p.m. matchup.
