LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Marist men's soccer team saw its season come to an end on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to top-seeded Fairfield in the 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men's Soccer Championship, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The fifth-seeded Red Foxes received their lone goal from senior Lucas Szabo (Bethesda, Md.) in the 58th minute.

Play began with the Stags jumping out to an early lead in the 10^th minute as Adam Cowen headed in a Daniel Shaw free kick.

The Red Foxes settled down as the first half wore on. In back-to-back plays junior Stephan Brossard (Port Washington, N.Y.) had his shot blocked and senior Krystian Witkowski (Rochester, N.Y.) followed up with an attempt that required a save from Fairfield goalkeeper Michael O'Keeffe.

After alternating shots, the Red Foxes held the ball in Fairfield's defensive zone for a solid two minute span as they earned four corner kick opportunities out of the pressure. The Stags sustained the onslaught of corners and quickly turned the field to earn a quality scoring opportunity of their own. At 25:45, Marist goalkeeper Steve Skonieczny (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) made his second save of the half as Jon Clements fired a shot on goal.

The first half closed with Marist registering two more corner kicks and a shot towards goal, while Fairfield took two shots. At the break, the Stags held a 7-4 advantage in shots, with a 3-1 margin in shots on goal. The Red Foxes were in control of corners kicks at 7-1.

In the second half, Fairfield looked to increase their one goal lead. Within four minutes of the second half kickoff, Jordan Ayris put Marist into a two goal deficit with a tally at 48:58.

Less than 10 minutes later, Szabo got the Red Foxes on the scoreboard as he was on the receiving end of a Alex George (Southold, N.Y.) to Tim Garger (Garden City, N.Y.) series of passes.

With just a 2-1 deficit, the Red Foxes looked to tie the game up over the final 22:29, but the Stags had other ideas. Fairfield continued pressing on the offensive end and eventually notched an insurance goal in the 85^th minute as Jack Burridge scored off of a Jon Clements' free kick.

After 90 minutes of action, Fairfield was victorious by a score of 3-1 and advanced to the MAAC Finals were they will meet Manhattan, who advanced out of the second semifinal.

Marist completed their game with a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks, but deficits in shots at 19-9 and 9-3 in shots on goal.

Skonieczny finished his final collegiate contest with six saves.

Post-match Head Coach Matt Viggiano remarked that he was pleased with the effort of the team versus the Stags. "We dominated large portions of the the game, though we allowed three goals, they were all off of set pieces. Fairfield is a experienced and skilled squad with four graduate students and 10 international players, those are some of the variables that made them a hard team to beat, they're the top seed for a reason."

About his winning 8-7-5 season, Viggiano remarked that "it was a great season and I am happy how our senior class showed leadership and dedication until the final whistle of their collegiate career. They were a great group to coach and watch and I would really like to thank them all for their four years."